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SKETCHES 



OF THX 



CIVIL AND MILITARY SERVICES 



OF 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



B Y 

CHARLES S. TODD, 

n 

LATE APf INSPECTOR-GENEUAL IJf THE U. S. ARMT, 

AND 

BENJAMIN DRAKE, 

AUTHOR OF TH5,i*mrr-BLACK IIAWK, &C. 




« 



quae que vidimus, 



Et quorum pars magna fuimus." 



CINCINNATI: 

PUBLISHED BY U. P. JAMES. 
No. 26 Pearl Street. 

:;:::::::::::: - « 

1840. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1840, by 
U. P. Jamks, in the Jlerk's OiVicc of the District Court of tJbie 
United Stati>s, in and for the District of Oliio. 



<*■ 




i Stereotyped by J. A. Jamrs, ) 
No. 1 Bdker Su CiuciuAaii. S 



PREFACE. 



The follovving^ work has been written at the re- 
quest of the Harrison committees in Cincinnati and 
Louisville, and is published under their sanction. 

The liniited size of the volume, and the rapidity 
with which the manuscript has been prepared for 
the press, have prevented the autliors from doing 
entire justice to tlic subject of their memoir. Their 
chief aim has been the presentation of such a nar- 
rative of the civil and military services of general 
Harrison, as would enable the people of the United 
States, to appreciate more thoroughly, the great prin- 
ciples which have governed him in the faithful dis- 
charge of the many important trusts confided to him 
by his country, in the course of a long and eventful 
career. 

In the preparation of this work the authors have 
been much aided by colonel M'AfTee's excellent His- 
tory of the Late War — by Mr. Dawson's Historical 
Narrative, which embraces many valuable and au- 
thentic dof'\iments — and by Judge Hall's elegant 
Memoir of the Public Services of general Harrison. 
Several other historical and biographical narratives 
have been consulted ; and, in addition to these sources 
of information, the authors have had the benefit of 
original letters and documents not heretofore embra- 
ced in any similar pul)lication. They have also 
been favored with the personal recollections of seve- 
ral officers of the late war, who participated with 

A 2 T 



▼I PREFACE, 

honor in the north-western campaigns. Finally, 
they themselves happen to have a personal knovyr- 
ledge of many of the scenes and incidents which 
they have undertaken to describe. 

Under these circumstances, whatever may be 
thought of the literature of the work, they venture 
to claim for it, at least the merit of authenticity in 
every substantial particular. Running, as it does, 
through a period of nearly fifty years, in the history 
of the West, it will be found to embrace a variety of 
matter valuable to the general reader, independently 
of its immediate relation to the distinguished citizen 
whose remarkable public career has been briefly 
pourtrayed in its pages. C. S. T. 

B. D. 

Cincinnati, March, 1840. 



By a resolution of the Harrison executive com- 
mittee for Hamilton county, passed on the 27th day 
of February, 1840, Jacob Burnet, John C. Wright, 
Nathan Guilford, David Gwynne, and Joseph Gra- 
ham were requested to procure the immediate publi- 
cation of a biographical sketch of the civil and mili- 
tary services of William Henry Harrison. 

In pursuance of their instructions, this committee 
appointed Charles S. Todd, of Kentucky, and Ben- 
jamin Drake, of Ohio, to prepare the proposed 
work ; and in this appointment the Harrison com- 
mittee for the central district of Kentucky, at Louis- 
ville, unanimously concurred. 

March, 1840. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER L 

His birth. — Parentage. — Education. — Entrance into the army. 
— Services vinder St. Clair and Wayne — Battle of the Mait- 
mte. — In command of Fort Washington (now Cincinnati.) — 
His marriage. — Resignation of his commission in the ar- 
my - Page 11 

CHAPTER n. 

Retires to a farm. — Appointed Secretary of the North-west- 
em Territory. — Elected a delegate in Congress. — Procures a 
Law sub-dividing the Public Lands. — Division of the North- 
western Territory. — MiUtary Land Warrants. — Political sen- 
timents. — C harge of Federalism - 19 

CHAPTER m. 

Harrison appointed Governor of Indiana Territory. — Commis- 
sioner to treat with the Indian Tribes. — His Message to the 
Legislative Council. — Addresses of the Council to him. — Cor- 
respondence with President Jefferson and the War Depart- 
ment — Indian Treaties. — Reappointed Governor by Jeffer- 
son, and again by Madison. — Recommends the building of 
a fleet on lake Erie __. 23 

CHAPTER IV. 

Interview between Governor Harrison and Tecumthe. — Battle 
of Tippecanoe. — Various documents concerning the same 

vii 



viii CONTENTS. 

from individuals — the legislatures of Indiana and Kentucky ; 
from President Madison, and the historians M'Afee, Dawson 
and Hall.- - -- 30 

CHAPTER V. 

Governor Harrison visits Kentucky. — Appointed Major-general 
in the militia of that state. — Brigadier in the United States 
army. — Commander-in-chief of the North-western army. — 
Relieves Fort Wayne. — Leads an expedition against the Wa- 
bash Indians. — Appoints Winchester to the command of the 
left wing of the army. — Refutation of the charge that he had 
intrigued for Winchester's command. — Reconciles the troops 
to serve under Winchester. — Plan of campaign 40 

CHAPTER VI. 

Movements of the army. — Tupper's expedition to the Rapids. — 
Campbell's expedition to Mississiniway. — General Harrison 
recommends a fleet on lake Erie. — Plan of operations for the 
campaign. — Again urges on the Secretary at War the neces- 
sity of a fleet on lake Erie. — Winchester's movement to the 
Rapids. — His movement to the river Raisin, and defeat on 
the 22nd of January. — The question examined, on whom 
rests the blame of that defeat. — Opinion of Wood — M'Afee's 
opinions. — Address of the Kentucky and Ohio oflicers- - 48 

CHAPTER VII. 

Movements of the North-western army, after the defeat at the 
river Raisin. — Establishment of Camp Meigs. — Kentucky aj)d 
Ohio militia discharged. — Termination of the first campaign. 
— Preparations for the next. — Colonel Morrison's opinion. — 
Siege of Fort Meigs. — Arrival of Kentucky troops under 
General Clay. — Dudley's defeat. — Brilliant sorties, 5th May. 
— Proctor's demand of a surrender. — His abandonment of the 
siege. — Gallant conduct of General Harrison. 64 



CONTENTS. IX 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Council with friendly Indians. — Reported investment of Fort 
Meigs. — Second siege of Fort Meigs. — Attack on Fort Ste- 
phenson. — Croghan's letter. — Statement of the general, staff, 
and field officers, about the attack on Fort Stephenson. — Ohio 
Militia at Grand Camp. — Preparations for crossing the lake. — 
Perry's victory. — Army reaches Maiden. — Proctor pursued. — 
Council at Sandwich. — Shelby, Cass, and Perry's letters. 81 



CHAPTER IX. 

Battle of the Thames. — Documents as to the same. — General 
Harrison sails for Buffalo. — Marches to Fort George. — Or- 
dered to his District. — Descends lake Ontario to Sackett's 
Harbor. — Passes to Cincinnati, via. New York, Philadelphia, 
and Washington. — Interference with his command by Gen- 
eral Armstrong. — Perry's letter. — M'Arthur's letter. — John- 
son's letter. — Croghan's letter. — Harrison's letter of resigna- 
tion to the President. — Governor Shelby's letter to tlie Pres- 
ident - — 98 



CHAPTER X. 

Commissioner to treat with the Indians. — Elected to Congress 
in IS 1 6. — Investigation of his conduct in that body. — Effort 
in favor of the pension laws. — Speech in regard to Kosci- 
usko. — .Speech on General Jackson's conduct in the Seminole 
war. — Favors the independence of the South American Re. 
publics. — A gold medal, and the thanks of Congress award- 
ed him. — Elected to the Legislature of Ohio. — Unfounded 
charge of having voted to sell white men imprisoned for 
debt. — Elected to the Senate of the United States. — Refutes 
Randolph's charge of federalism. — Minister to Colombia. — 

Letter to Bolivar. — Recalled by General Jackson. 114 

1* 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XI. 



Colonel Johnson's speech in Congress. — General Harrison's 
Cheviot address. — His address in 1832, in regard to Slavery. 
— Vincennes speech about Abolition. — His speech at the 
47th anniversary celebration of the settlement ot Ohio. — His- 
torical discourse on the aborigines of the Ohioi---^ 130 



CHAPTER Xn. 

General Harrison's first nomination for the presidency. — His 
letter to Sherrod Williams. — His opinions upon Duelling. — 
His letter to Harmer Denny, on the principles upon w^hich 
the government should be administered. — Second nomination 
for the presidency, December, 1839. 142 



CHAPTER Xni. 

General Harrison's civil and military qualifications considered, 
— Parallel between him and Washington. — His integrity and 
disinterestedness, illustrated by several anecdotes. — His social 
and literary character. — His enjoyment of a green old age in 
body and mind. 156 



SKETCHES OF 
GENERAL HARRISON. 



CHAPTER I. 

His birth. — Parentage. — Education. — Entrance into the army. 
— Services under St. Clair and Wayne. — Battle of the Mau- 
mee. — In command of Fort Washington (now Cincinnati.) — 
His marriage. — Resignation of his commission in the army. 

William Henry Harrison was born on the 9th day 
of February, 1773, at Berkley, on James River, in the 
county of Charles City, in the state of "Virginia. He is 
descended lineally from the general Harrison, who was 
a distinguished actor in the civil wars of England, and 
was a prominent officer in the armies of the common- 
wealth. 

Benjamin Harrison^ the father of the subject of this 
memoir, was a delegate from Virginia, in the continental 
congress, in 1774—5-6. As early as the 14th November, 
1764, he was one of the committee to prepare a remon- 
strance against the odious stamp act, at that time contempla- 
ted by the British cabinet, and from this period he was 
associated with Lee, Henry, Nicholas znA others, in energet- 
ic efforts, which were directed towards a vindication of the 
rights of the people against the encroachments of the crown. 

In the congress of 1775 the office of speaker was vaca- 
ted by Peyton Randolph, and in the choice of a succes- 
sor, congress was divided between Benjamin Harrison 
and John Hancock. In this early period of the struggle 
for liberty, Mr. Harrison being a delegate from the " Old 
Dominion," in the south, gave an illustrious evidence of 
his patriotism by yielding his pretensions in favor of the 
great patriot from the Bay State of the north ; and Mr. 
Hancock, hesitating for a moment to take the chair, Mr. 

U 



12 SKETCHES OF 

Harrison, N^ith practical gond humor, "seized the modest 
candidate in his athletic arms, and placed him in the 
presiilential chair;" then turning to the niemhers, he ex- 
claimed, " We will show mother Britain how littlk 

WE CARE FOR HER, BY MAKING A MASSACHUSETTS MAN 
OUR PRESIDENT, WHOM SHE HAS EXCLUDED FROM PARDON 
BY A PUBLIC PROCLAMATION." 

Mr. Harrison was a memher of the committee of that 
year, whose report lormed the basis of our present militia 
system. He was associated with the immortal Wash- 
irijrton, in a committee which arranged a plan for the fu- 
ture support of me army. He w as chairinan of the com- 
mitipe whose agency brought to our standard the gallant 
La Fayette, and was afterwards appointed a member of 
the B.anl of War. On the 10th of .Tune, 1776, he called 
up the resolutions by which the colonies were declared 
INDEPENDENT, and which authorized a Declaration of 
Independence to be prepared ; and he reported that in* 
strumeni on the ever memorable 4th of July, 1776. A 
curious anecdcte is on record, which furnishes a graphic 
description of the temper and intrepidity of the patriots 
of that day. Elbridge Gerry, a delegate from Massachu- 
setts, as slender as Mr. Harrison was portly, stood be- 
side Harrison whilst signing the Declaration. Harrison 
turned roimd to him with a smile as he raised his hand 
from the paper and said, " when the hanging scene comes 
to be exhibited, I shall have all the advantage over you. 
It will be over with me in a minute, but you will be 
kicking in the air half an hour after I am gone." 

Mr. Harrison continued in congress until 1777, when 
he retired, and having been elected to the House of Del- 
egates of Virginia, was chosen speaker, the duties of 
which he performed until 1782, when, on the resignation 
of general Nelson, he was elected governor of Virginia, 
and was re-elected as long as the constitution would per- 
mit. He died whilst a member of the legislature, in 
1791.* 

William Henry Harrison was educated at Hampden 

* See Sanderson's " Lives of the Signers of the Declaration 
of Independence. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 13 

Sydney college, and then repaired to Philadelphia to 
pursue the study df medicine under the instructit n of ihe 
distinguished Dr. Benjamin Kush, and under the guar- 
dianship of Robert Morris, the great financier of ihe rev- 
olution, both of whom were signers of the Declaration of 
IndepHiidenre. The youth, who had laid the f( undaiions 
at college for a taste in the literature and histniy ( f the 
ancient clas-^sics, was thus afforded an opportunity of 
drinking deep at thf se fountains of the genius and spirit 
of the revolution. He had derived from his patriotic 
fath«^r, the lessons of republican liberty, and in the school 
of i?ui/t, of i^/orm, and of Washington^ he imbibed a love 
of C( untry, which led him to encounter difficulty and dan- 
ger in her defence. About this period the disasters of 
the north-western army, under the accomplished Harmar, 
excited a deep sympathy in the public mind, and the 
youthful Harrison, partaUing largely of the generous im- 
pulses of the day, resolved to abandon the studies in 
which he was engraged, and to participate in the perils as 
well as the sacrifices which were incident to this great 
border warfare. His guardian and his friends opposed 
his wish to enter upon this hazardous duty ; but he ap- 
plied in person to general Knox, secretary of war, and 
to the IMMORTAL WASHINGTON, who granted him a com- 
mission of ensign in the first regiment of United States 
artillery, and in November, 1791, when but nineteen 
years of age, he marched on foot to Pittsburgh, and by 
descending the Ohio, joined his rt giment, then stationed 
at Fort VVasliinoton. 

Shortly before the disastrous defeat of the veteran St. 
Clair, ensign Harrison formed the resolution to devote 
his energies to the niiliiary service of his country, at a 
period when his ji:dgmcnt and feelings must have been 
guided hy a hioh sense of patrioti>m, and a disinterested 
love of fame. The theatre of tlie war was in the remote 
"wilderness, and the charartt r of the enemy such, that lau- 
rels were to be wnn only by great suffeiing and exposure 
in situations destitute of the comforts or even the ne- 
cessaries of civilized life. A great national disaster had 
occurred in 1790, under the gallant Harmar, who was 
seconded by the heroic conduct of colonel Hardin, him* 

B 



14 SKETCHES OF 

self a sacrifice to the treachery of the Indian character. 
Congress authorized at its next session, the raising of 
two thousand men, under the denomination of levies, and 
general St. Clair, governor of the north-western territory, 
was appointed commander-in-chief. 

On the 4th of November, 1791, he was met and like- 
wise defeated, with great loss, by a formidable body of 
Indians, on the waters of Big Miami river. 

This defeat of St. Clair, though congress subsequently 
acquitted him of all blame, produced a deep impression 
on the public mind, and, connected with the previous dis- 
asters of the war, rendered the service unpopular, drained 
the public treasury, and brought the country into a crisis 
which developed the energies of Washington's great in- 
tellect. The war had assumed a national importance, 
inducing the president to select for the chief of the army, 
a soldier of prudence, of experience and of energy. The 
choice was balanced for a time between Clark and 
Wayne, both distinguished leaders in the war of the rev- 
olution, though on a different theatre — the former acting 
under the immediate eye of the father of his country, 
earning for himself the reputation of intrepidity, with fer- 
tility of expedient; the latter having won the distinctive 
title of the Hannibal of the West. The command was 
eventually assigned to Wayne, who acquired a new 
wreath of glory for himself, and added to the proofs of 
the sagacity of Washington. 

Ensign Harrison joined his regiment at Fort Washing- 
ton just in time to witness the return of the fragments of 
that gallant band, which, marching out in the proud anti- 
cipations of victory, was destined to a sad reverse under 
the veteran St. Clair. Under these discouraging circum- 
stances, and with the near approach of winter, ensign 
Harrison commenced his public service in the command 
of an escort, having charge of a train of pack horses des- 
tined for Fort Hamilton. It was a duty involving peril 
and fatigue, by night and by day, and requiring the ex- 
ercise of sagacity and self-denial. His performance of 
the arduous^task elicited the commendations of general 
St. Clair, and exhibited an interesting instance of a char- 
acter in which the ardor of youth was combined with the 



GENERAL HARRISON. 15 

maturity of age. In 1792 he was promoted to the rank 
of lieutenant, and in 1793 joined the legion under gen- 
eral Wayne, and was not long afterwards selected hy him 
as one of his aids-de-camp — illustrating, in an eminent 
degree, the confidence of tnat tried soldier, since lieuten- 
ant Harrison was only twenty-one years of age. He 
continued to act as aid to general Wayne during the whole 
of the ensuing campaign, receiving, as he merited, re- 
peated instances of high encomium from his commander. 
The first occurred upon the occasion of a detachment 
having been sent on the 23d of December, 1793, to take 
possession of the field of battle of the 4th of November, 
1791, and to fortify the position. To the new post was 
given the name of Fort Recovery. The following gene- 
ral order was issued on the return of the troops from 
that interesting duty : 

"The commander-in-chief returns his most grateful 
thanks to major Henry Burbeck, and to every officer, 
non-commissioned officer, and private, belonging to the 
detachment under his command, for their soldiery and 
exemplary good conduct during their late arduous tour 
of duty, and the cheerfulness with which they surmount- 
ed every difficulty, at this inclement season, in repos- 
sessing general St. Clair's field of battle, and erecting 
thereon Fort Recovery^ a work impregnable by savage 
force ; as also for piously and carefully collecting and 
interring the bones, and paying the last respect and mil- 
itary honors to the remains of the heroes who fell on the 
4th of November, 1791, by three times three discharges 
from the same artillery that was lost on that fatal day, but 
now recovered by this detachment of the legion. 

"The commander-in-chief also requests major Mills, 
captains De Butts and Butler, lieutenant Harrison, and 
Dr. Scott, to accept his best thanks for their volunttiry 
aid and services on this occasion." 

The other instance of commendation of the gal- 
lantry of lieutenant Harrison is to be found in the report 
made by general Wayne to the war department, in rela- 
tion to the celebrated battle of the Maumee, which we 
shall presently introduce to the notice of the reader. 

The youth, the early habits of study, and the delicate 



I 



16 SKETCHES OF 

frame of Mr. Harrison, not less than the perils and pri- 
vations incident to the border warfare, would have intim- 
idated a spirit less heroic than his, in er»tprin^ upon the 
arduous service in the north-west. As illustrative of the 
aspect of affairs, and of his first appearance in the army, 
an old soldier of" St. Clair, who was present, has re- 
marked : — " I would as soon have thought of putting my 
•wife in the service as this hoy ; but I have been out with 
him, and I find those smooth cheeks are on a wise head, 
and that slight frame is almost as tough as my own 
weather-beaten carcass." 

General Charles Scott, a veteran of the revolution, who 
enjoyed the special confidence of Washington, arrived in 
July from Kentucky with his command of mounted vol- 
unteers, and on the 8th of August, general Wayne took 
up a position at Grand Glaize, seventy miles in advance 
of Greenville. A strong work was erected at the junc- 
tion of the Auglaize and Maumee rivers, and general 
Wayne aorain opened a communication with the Indians 
before striking the final blow. "I have thought pro- 
per,*' he said, " to oflT^r the enemy a last overture of 
peace; and as they have every tiling that is dear and in- 
teresting at stake, I have reason to expect tfiey will listen 
to the proposition mentioned in the enclosed copy of an 
address dispatched yes'erday by a special flag, under 
circumstances that will insure his safe return, and which 
may eventually spare the effusion of much human bl'od." 
*' But should war be their choice, that bicod be upon their 
own heads. America shall n > Inno-er be insulted with 
impunity. To an all powerful and just God, I therefore 
commit myself and gallant army." 

The enemy rejected the offer < f peace, and the cele- 
brated Little Turtle, who advised its adaption in a coun- 
cil en the night before the batle, spoke as follows : "We 
have beaten the enemy twice under separate command- 
ers. We cannot expect the same go* d fortune to attend 
us always. The Americans are now led by a chief who 
never sleeps: the night and the day are ulike to him« 
And durinij all the time he has been marching upon our 
villages, noiwiih-tanding the watchfulness of ouryounflr 
men, we have never been able to surprise him. Think 



GENERAL HARRISON. 17 

well of it. There is somethincr whispers me it would be 
prudent to listen to his offers of peace." 

We refer the reader to the official report of general 
Wayne of 27th August, 1794, for a perspicuous account 
of the celebrated battle of Mauniee, and deem it sufficient 
for our present purpose to give an extract relating to the 
conduct of his aid-de-carnp, lieutenant Harrison. 

"The bravery and conduct of every officer belonging 
to the army, from the generals down to the ensigns, merit 
my highest approbation. There were, however, some 
whose rank and situation placed their conduct in a very 
conspicuous point of view, and which I observed with 
pleasure and the most lively gratitude: amon^ whom. I 
beo- leave to mention brio-adier gfeneral Wilkinson, and 
colonel Hamtramck, the commandants of the right and 
left wings of the legion, whose brave example inspired 
the troops ; and to these I must add the names of my 
faithful and (rallanl aids-de-camp, captains De Butts and 
T. Lewis, and lieuienant Harrison^ who, with the adju- 
tant general, major Mills, rendered the most essential service 
by communicating my orders in every direction^ and by their 
conduct and bravery exciting the troops to press for victory. ^^ 

The praise of which lieutenant, now general, Harrison 
was the subject in the dispatch from the illustrious 
W^ayne, was of a character to soothe him for the trials 
and the perils he had encountered, and to stimulate him 
to increased diligence in the discharge of the high and 
responsible duties confided to him when placed after- 
wards in the command of Fort W'ashington. This com- 
mendation received additional weight from the remarks 
made in the presence of a venerable gentleman, now liv- 
ing, by general Wilkinson and colonel Shauinburg, who 
said that " Harrison was in the foremost front of the 
hottest battle — his person was exposed from the com- 
mencement to the close of the action. Wherever duty 
called, he hastened, regardless of danger, and by his ef- 
forts and example contributed as much to secure the for- 
tune of the day, as any other officer subordinate to the 
commander-in-chief." 

The victory at Manmee was achieved by the discipline 
of Wayne's army, and the introduction bv that sagacious 

B 2 



18 SKETCHES OF 

leader, of a new feature in military tactics, as applied 
to Indian warfare, which was the result of a plan di- 
gested by Washington, Knox, and Wayne. The north- 
western savage chooses his own time and his own posi- 
tion, and he retreats from it at his own pleasure, lo be 
overcome, he must be outflanked or kept on the wing, as 
he was by Wayne, by a constant charge of the bayonet. 
To provide against the contingency of the enemy assail- 
ing his flanks, Wayne had adopted the plan of forming 
his troops at open order, so as to extend his flanks and 
move with celerity in the woods. These principles were 
acted upon in the subsequent war conducted by general 
Harrison, and may be now regarded as the approved 
mode of fighting the north-western Indians. 

A permanent peace with the Indians was the fruit 
of this great victory. The negociations commenced in 
January and terminated in August, 1795. Soon after 
the close of this campaign, captain Harrison was en- 
trusted by Wayne with the command of Fort Wash- 
ington, where he was directed to advise the general of 
all movements connected with the invasion of Louisiana, 
then projected, and to prevent the forwarding of any 
military stores by the French agents. As a further evi- 
dence of the confidence of Wayne, he specially entrusted 
captain Harrison with his commands and intentions as to 
the supply of the troops intended to occupy the posts 
theretofore held by the British on the northern frontier. 
Whilst in the command of Fort Washington, (now Cin- 
cinnati,) captain Harrison married the daughter of John 
Cleves Symmes, the founder of the Miami settlements. 
An anecdote is given in relation to the marriage, illus- 
trative of the independent character of captain Harrison. 
On the proposal to Mr. Symmes for his consent, Harri- 
son was asked what were his resources for maintaining 
a wife? Placing his hand upon his sword, he replied, 
" this, sir, is my means of support." The chivalry and 
undaunted confidence of the young soldier at once obtain- 
ed the approbation of Mr. Symmes. Captain Harrison 
continued in the command of Fort Washington until 
1797, when, upon the death of general Wayne, ho re- 
signed hi8 commission in the army. 



GENERAL HARRISON*. 10 



CHAPTER II. 

Ketires to a Farm — Appointed Secretary of the North-west- 
ern Territoiy. — Elected a delegate in Congress — Procures a 
Law sub-dividing the Public Lands. — Division of the North- 
western Territory. — Military Land Warrants. — Political sen- 
timents. — Charge of Federalism. 

The war being ended, captain Harrison, like the Father 
of his country, retired to the peaceful pursuits of agri- 
culture ; and on his farm, near Cincinnati, soon acquired 
that taste for the cultivation of the soil, which through a 
long life, has prompted hini, when not engaged in the 
public service, to return to the plough. Having turned 
his sword into the pruning hook, he identified himself 
with the people in whose defence he had been drawn to 
the banks of the Ohio. He was not suffered, however, 
long to enjoy the repose of his log-cabin. Early ia 
1798, Winthrop Sargent, secretary of the north-western 
territory, having been appointed governor of the south- 
western territory, president Adams selected Mr. Harrison 
to fill the office thus vacated. The appointment made 
hira ex-officio lieutenant governor, and in the absence of 
governor St. Clair from the territory, he discharged the 
executive duties in a manner that won the approbation 
of the people. In the month of October, 1799, when, 
under the ordinance of 1787, the territory was admitted 
to the second grade of government, the legislative coun- 
cil elected him a delegate to congress. 

In January, 1800, 5lr. Harrison took his seat in that 
body, then in session in Philadelphia. His first effort 
was to effect a change in the mode of selling the public 
lands, which had hitherto been offered in large tracts — a 
system well suited to the rich speculator, but adverse to 
the interest of the poor man, however industrious or en- 
terprising. The subject was one of vital interest not 
only to the territory, but the whole country. The injus- 
tice of this aristocratic mode of selling the public do- 
main, had engaged the attention of Mr. Harrison, prior 



20 SKETCHES OF 

to his election ; and havings maturely considered the sub- 
ject he lost no time in callinsr the attention of congress to it. 

From a circular of Mr. Harrison, to the people of the 
territory, under date of Philadelpliia, 14th May, 1800, 
we make the following quotation, showing the result of 
his efforts on this important subject: 

'* Amongst the variety of objects which engaged my 
attentirtn, as peculiarly interesting to our territory, none 
appeared to me of so much injportance as the adoption 
of a system for the sale of the public lands, which would 
give more favorable terms to that class of purchasers 
who are likely to become actual settlers, than was offered 
by the existing laws upon that subject; conformably to 
this idea, I procured the passage of a resolution at an 
early period for the appointment of a committee to lake 
the matter into consideration. And shortly after I re- 
ported a bill containing terms for the purchaser, as favora- 
ble as could have been expected. This bill was adopted 
by the house of representatives without any material 
alteration ; but, in the senate amendments were introduc- 
ed, obliging the purchaser to pay interest on that part of 
the money for which a credit was given from the date of 
the purchase, and directing that one-half the land (in- 
stead of the whole, as was provided by the bill from the 
house of representatives,) should be sold in half sections 
of three hundred and twenty acres, and the other half in 
whole sections of six hundred and forty acres. All my 
exertions, aided by some of the ablest members of the 
lower house, at a conference for that purpose, were not 
sufficient to induce the senate to recede from their amend- 
ments ; but, upon the whole, there is cause of congratu- 
lation to my fellow-citizens that terms, as favorable as 
the bill still contains, have been procured. This law 
promises to be the foundation of a great increase of pop- 
ulation and wealth to out country ; for although the min- 
imum price of the land is still fixed at two dollars per 
acre, the time for making payments has been so extended 
as to put it in the power of every industrious man to 
comply with them, it beinof only necessary to pay one- 
fourth part of the money in hand, and the balance at the 
end of two, three and four years ; besides this, the odious 



GENERAL HARRISON. 21 

circumstance of forfeiture, which was made the penalty 
of failiiijT in the payments under the old law, is entirely 
abolished, and the purchaser is allowed one year after 
the last payment is due to collect the money ; if ilie 
land is not then paid for, it is sold, and, after the pub- 
lic have been reimbursed, the balance of the money is 
returned to the purchaser. Four land-otfices are direct- 
ed to be opened — one at Cincinnati, one at Chilicothe, 
one at Marietta, and one at Steubenville, for the sale 
of the lands in the neighborhood of those places. In a 
communication of this kind, it is impossible to detail all 
the provisions of the law. I have, however, sent a copy 
of it to the printers at Cincinnati, with a request that 
they would publish it several weeks." 

In contemplating- the present condition of the states 
and territories north-west of the Ohio, too much praise 
cannot be awarded to the author of this law. Had the 
system of selling the public lands, in large tracts, been 
continued, it is certain, that the population and wealth 
of this immense reo-ion would not have been half what 
they now are. The poor but sturdy and independent 
farmers, whose axe has felled the forest, and whose 
plough has upturned the soil, would have been precluded 
from becoming freeholders within this immense region, 
which, by the sweat of their brows, is now made to " bud 
and blossom as the rose." Mr Harrison's land bill met 
with violent opposition in congress, especially in the 
senate. But being himself thoroughly conversant with 
the evils of the existing law, and the manifest justice of 
the proposed one having secured its author the support 
of some able and efficient members, it was finally passed, 
although shorn of a part of its salutary provisions. In 
the subsequent legislation of congress, reffulaling the 
sales of the public lands, all the features, it is believed, 
of the original report and bill upon this subject, have 
been incorporated : and in tracing this most beneficent 
mode of disposing of the public d^nnain, it would be an 
act of injustice to withhold from Mr. Harrison the proud 
appellation of being the father of the land svsvem, 
and the poor man's friend. 

During the same session of congress, Mr. Harrison 



22 SKETCHES OF 

obtained an extension of the time of payment, for the 
pre-emptioners in the northern part of the Miami pur- 
chase, which enabled them to secure their farms. In 
this matter there was some collision of interest between 
the settlers and the original proprietor, John Cleves 
Symmes, the father-in-law of Mr. Harrison. He was 
consequently placed in a delicate and responsible situa- 
tion. But his conduct was marked by that integrity of 
purpose, which has ever been one of the striking charac- 
teristics of his life. He zealously sustained the rights 
of the meritorious purchasers. At the same session, he 
also effected an important change in the plan of locating 
military land warrants; and among other acts of a local 
character, procured the passage of a law, in conformity 
with numerous petitions from different parts of the dis- 
trict he represented, providing for the division of the 
north-western territory into two separate governments — 
the western being called the "Indiana Territory," the 
eastern the " Territory of the United States North-west 
of the Ohio." 

After the adjournment of congress, Mr. Harrison pro- 
ceeded to Virginia, on a visit to his family and friends, from 
whom he had now been separated more than seven years. 

Prior to his entering into civil office, Mr. Harrison had 
identified himself with the great republican party of the 
country, and was the consistent advocate of popular 
rights. It has been charged upon him, that he was a 
federalist and a supporter of the "alien and sedition 
law," in the time of the elder Adams. This unfounded 
allegation, has probably arisen from the fact of his be- 
ing appointed to office by president Adams. It is well 
known, however, that Mr. Harrison warmly opposed his 
election to the presidency; but this consideration did not 
deter the president from the faithful discharge of his 
duty. He knew the high qualifications of Mr. Harrison 
for civic office, and although a political opponent, did not 
hesitate to call him into public li!e. At that period in 
the history of our country, it is well known, men were 
not, as at the present day, proscribed for opinion's sake. 
Washington and Adams, in their appointments to office, 
acted on the principle, afterwards beautifully announced 



GENERAL HARRISON. 23 

by Jefferson, in his inaugural address, — " is he honest? 
is he capable? is he faithful to the constitution?" 

But this charo^e of federalisnn, has been forever put to 
rest, by the very highest authority. The honorable Ja- 
cob Burnet, than whom no one knew more intimately the 
political sentiments of Mr. Harrison, says, "it has been 
asserted entirely at random, 'that he was a federalist 
of the old black cocknde order,, in the time of the elder Ad- 
ams.' A more unfounded falsehood was never invented. 
My personal acquaintance with him commenced in 1796, 
under the administration of Washington. The intimacy 
between us was great, and our intercourse was constant; 
and from that time till he left Cincinnati, I was in the 
habit of arguing and disputing with him on political sub- 
jects. I was a federalist — honestly so, from principle, 
and adhered to the party till it dissolved, and its elements 
mingled with other parties formed on different principles. 
I can therefore speak on this point with absolute cer- 
tainty, and I affirm most solemnly, that under the admin- 
istration of Washington, and the administration of the 
elder Adams, William Henry Harrison was a firm, con- 
sistent, unyielding republican, of the Jefferson school. 
He advocated the election of Mr. Jefferson, and warmly 
maintained his claims against Mr. Adams."* 



CHAPTER HI. 

Harrison appointed Governor of Indiana Territory. — Commis- 
sioner to treat with the Indian Tribes. — His Message to the 
Legislative Council. — Addresses of the Council to him. — Cor- 
respondence with President Jefferson and the War Depart- 
ment. — Indian Treaties. — Re-appointed Governor by Jeffer- 
son, and again by Madison. — Recommends the building of 
a fleet on lake Erie. 

It has been seen that the north-western territory waa 
divided by congress, in the spring of 1800. Soon after 

* Public speech in Cincinnati, 



24 " SKETCHES OF 

the passagre of that law, president Adams appointed Mr. 
Harrison govornor of the western division, known as the 
Indiana territory, which then embraced the reg^ion of 
country now included within the boundaries of the states 
of Indiana and Illinois, and the territory of Wisconsin. 
In 1803, upon the admission of Ohiointo the union, the re- 
gion of country which now forms the state of Michigan 
was added to the Indiana territory ; and during the subse- 
quent year, governor Harrison was made, ex-ojftcio, gover- 
nor of upper Louisiana. 

The population of the Indiana territory, at the period 
when Mr. Harrison was appointed governor, did not ex- 
ceed five thousand, and was principally confined to three 
settlements, — the first on Clark's grant, near the falls of 
the Ohio; the second at Vincennes ; the third on the 
Mississippi river, extending from Cahokia to Kaskaskia. 
The wide regions to the north and north-west of these 
three points, were either occupied by the Indians, or 
constituted their hunting grounds. Notwithstanding the 
treaty of Greenville, a spirit of restless hostility towards 
the United States, prevailed among the Indian tribes, 
which was constantly fomented by British agents, who 
visited their villages, and did not hesitate to misrepresent 
the policy of the American government; and, by pres- 
ents of merchandize and spirituous liquors, to stimulate 
the Indians to annoy the white settlements, and resist 
their further extension to the north-west. Such were the 
limits of the Indiana territory, and such the temper of 
the aborigines residincr within it, when governor Harri- 
son entered upon his duties. 

The powers conferred upon the governor of Indiana 
were extensive and multifarious. The people had no 
voice in the management of their affairs. The duly of or- 
ganizing all the civil institutions belonged to the gover- 
nor. VVitli the advice of the judges, he was empowered 
by congress to adopt and publish the necessary civil and 
criminal laws. He was charged with the appointment 
of magistrates and other civil officers, and of the militia 
officers, helow the rank of general. The duty of divid- 
ing the territory into counties and town^^hips was also 
assigned to the executive, and being, ex-officio, superia- 



GENERAL HARRISON. 25 

tendent of Indian affairs, he wai5 compelled to keep up a 
laborious and extensive correspondence with the general 
g;Overnment. Another power, equally responsible, and 
of a more delicate character, was confided to governor 
Harrison — that of deciding- upon the validity of certain 
equitable grants of land, held by individuals. There 
was no check or limitation upon these confirmations. 
Each case was submitted, without notice, directly to the 
governor, and his decision and signature, vested a title as 
safe and unalterable as a patent from the United States. 
A still further and most extraorciinary power, was added 
to those already enumerated. On the 3d of February, 
1803, the president sent a message to the senate of the 
United States, in the following words : 

" I nominate William Henry Harrison, of Indiana, to 
be a commissioner to enter into any treaty or treaties ichich 
may he necessary, with any Indian tribes north-west of the 
Ohio, and within the territory of the United States, on 
the subject of boundary or lands. 

" Thomas Jefferson." 

Thp message containing this nomination, was read on 
the 4th, and on the 8th received the unanimous sanction 
of the senate. This appointment, without a parallel in 
the iii?tory of our countr}^ exhibits in a striking manner, 
the unlimited confidence reposed in governor Harrison, 
by jNIr. Jefferson and his counsellors, the senate of the 
United vStatos. 

It is obvious that an able and faithful discharge of such 
varied and responsible duties, as were devolved upon the 
governor of Indiana, required a rare combination of mor- 
al and intellectual powers. That he should have been 
four times appointed to this office, — first by Adams, 
twice by Jefferson, and finally by Madison, — may be 
taken as conclusive evidence, that governor Harrison 
possessed the wisdom, discretion, and integrity, neces- 
sary for the performance of such high duties. But there 
are other evidences of the fact. In 1809, eirrht \ears 
after governor Harrison had first entered upon that sta- 
tion, the legislative council and house of representatives 
of the territory, addressed a resolution to the president 
and sen.ite of the United States, in which they say: 
2 C 



26 SKETCHES OF 

"They cannot forbear from recommending to, and re- 
questing of the president and senate, most earnestly, in 
their names, and in the names of their constituents, the 
re-appointment of their present governor, William Henry 
Harrison: — because they are sensible he possesses the 
good wishes and affeciion of a great majority of his fel- 
low-citizens ; because they believe him sincerely attach- 
ed to the union, the prosperity of the United States, and 
the administration of its government; because they be- 
lieve him, in a superior degree, capable of promoting 
the interest of our territory, from long experience, and 
laborious attention to our general concerns — from his 
influence over the Indians, and his wise and disinter- 
ested management of that department-^and because they 
have confidence in his virtues, talents, and republican- 
ism." 

About the same time, a meeting of the officers of the 
militia for the county of Knox, was held in Vincennes, 
approving of governor Harrison's official conduct. 

In July, 1805, the citizens of St. Louis, when their 
connexion with the crovernor of Indiana was about to 
cease, made an address to him, in which they commend 
the "assiduity, attention and disinterested punctuality,'* 
•which he had manifested in the temporary administration 
of the government of Louisiana. 

The conduct of governor Harrison, in administering 
the affairs of the Indiana territory, was repeatedly ap- 
proved by the legislative council and house of represen- 
tatives. In 1805, the former, in reply to the message of 
the governor, say : 

"The confidence which our fellow-citizens have uni- 
formly had in your administration, has been such that 
they have hitherto had no reason to be jealous of the un- 
limited power which you possess over our legislative 
proceedings. We, however, cannot help regretting that 
such powers have been lodged in the hands of any 
one, especially when it is recollected to what dangerous 
lengths the exercise of those powers may be extended." 

The house of representatives, in their reply, make the 
followino; remarks : 

" Accept, sir, the thanks of the house of representa- 



GENERAL HARRISON. 27 

lives for the speech you iimde to both houses of the leg- 
islature on the openiny^ of the present session. In it we 
discern the solicitude for the future liappiness and pros- 
perity of the territory, which has been uniformly evinced 
by your past administration." 

It is unnecessary to occupy more space in citing testi- 
mony in favor of the conduct of governor Harrison, while 
presiding over the territory. In the administration of its 
affairs, he laid the foundation of a popularity, which after 
the lapse of thirty years, overspreads the population of 
the states of Indiana and Illinois, now amounting to more 
than a million of souls. The course of governor Harri- 
son won for him more than the respect and confidence of 
the people — it secured their warm and affectionate re- 
gard. I^he moderation, good sense and disinterested- 
ness, with which he exercised the almost unlimited pow- 
ers conferred upon him, could not fail to produce these 
results. His appointments were always made with a 
reference to the public good and the wishes of the peo- 
ple. Neither private friendship nor personal animosity 
was suffered to influence him, in the discharge of his 
official duty. 

In the management of the Indian affairs of the terri- 
tory, governor Harrison had unlimited authority to draw 
on the government for money. Perhaps no individual 
has ever disbursed so large an amount of the public trea- 
sure, as governor Harrison, and had so little difficulty in 
adjusting his accounts with the war department. This 
arose from the simple mode in which he kept his ac- 
counts. He refused to keep any amount of the public 
money on hand. When called on to make payments, he 
drew for the amount, on the department, and forthwith 
transmitted a copy of the draft, and a receipt for the pay- 
ment, to Washington in the same letter. By this sim- 
ple mode, the department was saved the risk and expense 
of sending money to the west, and the subsequent settle- 
ment of long and complicated accounts. 

The messages of trovernor Harrison to the legislature 
of the territory, during tlie twelve years of his adminis^ 
tration, are replete with sound, practical and statesman- 
like views; but our limits do not admit of the iiUioduc- 



28 SKETCHES OF 

tion of these documents, so creditable to the head and 
heart of their author. 

Those who are familiar with the character of the north- 
western tribes, stimulated about this time by British in- 
fluence, and rojised to action by the cunning of the Pro- 
phet and the genius of Tecumthe, will readily appreciate 
the difficulties to be encountered by governor Harrison, 
in preserving peace on tlie frontiers, and effecting those 
treaties of cession, which added an immense body of val- 
uable land to the public domain of his country. He had 
no military force under his command to awe the Indians 
or avenge their aggressions upon the settlements. It 
was the moral influence of his character, founded on the 
justice of his course towards them, which enabled him 
to bring about those great rseults which have given so 
much lustre to the civil administration of governor Har- 
rison, in Indiana. It is a remarkable fact, that during 
this period, he effected not less than thirteen treaties with 
these tribes, by which the United States acquired the 
peaceable possession of sixty millions of acres of land. 
These treaties were all made by governor Harrison as 
sole commissioner^ and it is creditable to the wisdom and 
moderation of their author, that the provisions of every 
one of them received the sanction of the president and 
senate of the United States. 

The reputation of governor Harrison as a civilian and 
statesman, may be safely ^rested upon his administration 
of the affairs of Indiana. His messages to the legisla- 
tive council and house of representatives, during a period 
of twelve years — his various communications to the In- 
dian tribes — his voluminous correspondence with the sec- 
retary at war, and with tlje president of the United States, 
are all eloquent and imperishable records of the extent 
and accuracy of his knowledge — the force and graceful- 
ness of his pen — the clearness and maturity of liis judg- 
ment. Th§ powers conferred upon him by the govern- 
ment of the United States, were varied and extraordi- 
nary — being legislative, executive, judicial and military, 
to which may he added that of making treaties with the 
Indians. They were powers, greater than the constitu- 
tion confers upon the president of the United States, and 



GENERAL HARRISON. 29 

required in the proper exercise of them, a combination of 
rare and varied talents. Governor Harrison so acquit- 
ted himself, in this responsible station, as to leave no 
stain upon his integrity, and no necessity for eulogy upon 
the wisdom of his measures. 

Soon after Mr. Madison became president, he directed 
the secretary at war to procure from governor Harrison, 
his opinion upon the best mode of protecting the north- 
western frontier from invasion. In a letter, under date 
of Vincennes, 5th July, 1809, the governor replies at 
length upon the subject, in which he defines the position 
and temper of the Indian tribes, and in a minute and 
lucid manner, examines the military topography of the 
country along the lakes, and the Mississippi river, and 
designates the points where forts should be erected and 
garrisons established. From this very able document, 
we take the following paragraph, for the purpose of 
showing at how early a period, the military eye of gov- 
ernor Harrison saw the necessity of the United States 
obtaining the naval ascendancy on lake Erie. 

" When I was at Detroit in 1803, the British had, and 
I believe still have, six or seven armed vessels, carrying 
from eight to twenty-two guns, on lake Erie. With a 
part of this force, and with the assistance of the Indians, 
Mackinac would be easily reduced ; as, from its insular 
situation, reinforcements or supplies could not reach it, if 
the enemy should possess the superiority of naval force 
on the upper lakes; to prevent this, it will be necessary 
either to build a number of vessels equal to theirs, or, by 
fortifying the river of Detroit, confine them to lake Erie. 
A situation proper for this was the object of my enquiry ; 
and Hog island, two miles above Detroit, was pointed 
out as the most eligible ; there is, also, another favorable 
situation for commanding the navigation, on the strait 
below lake St. Clair and lake Huron." 

It was not until the lapse of three years after the date 
of this letter, that the government acted upon the sug- 
gestion of governor Harrison in regard to a fleet upon 
lake Erie. Had it been attended to when made, it is 
obvious, that the commencement of the war with Great 
Britain would not have resulted in that profuse loss of 

c 2 



30 SKETCHES OF 

blood and treasure, which marked the first campaigns on 
the north-western frontiers. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Interview between govenior Harrison and Tccumthe. — Battle 
of Tippecanoe. — Various documents concerning the same 
from individuals — the Legislatures of Indiana and Kentucky; 
from President Madison, and the liistorians M'Afee, Dawson, 
and Hall. 

Between the years 1806 and 1811, governor Harri- 
son's duties as superintendent of Indian affairs, were de- 
licate and responsible. During this period, the British 
agents were powerfully aided in their efforts to excite 
the Indians to hostility against the United States, by two 
remarkable individuals, Tecumthe and his brother Olli- 
wachica, better known as the Prophet. The genius of 
the one, and the prophetical character of the other, drew 
around them a band of desperate followers, who finally 
established themselves at Tippecanoe. The treaty made 
at Fort Wayne in 1809, by govenor Harrison, gave of- 
fence to Tecumthe, it being in violation of the great 
principle of his confederacy, that the Indian lands were 
the common property of all the tribes, and could not be 
sold without the consent of all. In August, 1810, he 
invited Tecumthe to visit Vincennes, to have the difficul- 
ty adjusted. The chief, attended by four hundred war- 
riors, armed with war-clubs and tomahawks, presented 
themselves at the appointed time. It was at this coun- 
cil that Tecumthe declared the governor's statements 
false, and sprung to his arms, his example being follow- 
ed by forty of his warriors, who were present at the con- 
ference. The firmness of the governor, and the final ter- 
mination of this extraordinary interview, must be famil- 
iar to the reader. It was at the close of this council, 
when, upon govenor Harrison's telling him that he would 



OENEILVL HARRISON. 31 

refer the question between them, to the president, that 
Tecumihe replied, " Wei), as the crreat chief is to deter- 
mine the matter, I hope the Great Spirit will put sense 
enough into his head, to induce him to direct you to 
give up this land. It is true he is so fiir off, he will not 
be injured by tlie war: he may sit still in his town, and 
drink his wine, whilst you and I will have to fight it 
out." The governor, in conclusion, lold Tecumthe that 
he had one proposal to make, and that was, in the event 
of a war, to put a stop to that cruol and disgraceful mode 
of warfare which the Indians were accustomed to wacre 
acrainst women and children, and upon their prisoners. 
To this proposition, resulting from governor Harrison's 
benevolent forecast, he cheerfully assented, and it is due 
to the memory of Tecumthe to add, that he faithfully 
kept his promise. 

Tecumthe left Vincennes boldly avowing his determi- 
nation to persevere in his effort to combine the tribes, on 
the principle already alluded to ; and in the next year, 
he visited the southern Indians for this purpose, leaving 
the Prophet in charge of the party at Tippecanoe, but 
with instructions to avoid an open rupture with the Uni- 
ted States during his absence. In the summer of 1811, 
the danger to the frontier became so imminent that the 
president placed some troops under the command of go- 
vernor Harrison, to be used oQensively, however, in such 
a contingency only, as in his judgment, he might deem 
indispensably necessary. Governor Harrison consulto.l 
with governors Howard and F]d wards of Missouri and 
Illinois, who advised the breaking up of the Prophet's 
town, or at all events the prevention of the further assem- 
blasfe of Indians at that point. The governor's force 
consisted of regulars and militia, a small part of the lat- 
ter being from Kentucky, with whom came Daviess,* 
Croghan, O'Fallon, Shipp, Meade, Edwards, and Saun- 

* In a letter to the governor, Daviess said : ''I make free to 
tell you that I have imaf^incd tlicre were two men in the west 
who had military' talents, and you, sir, were the first of the two. 
It is thus an opportunity of service much valued by me. I pro 
as a volunteer, leaving you, sir, to dispose of me as you choose." 



33 SKETCHES OF 

ders, gallant young volunteers, who not only distinfruish- 
ed themselves in the action which ensued, but perlornied 
a brilliant part in the subsequent war with Great Britain, 
The governor was also joined by Owen and Wells, both 
celebrated in the early history of Kentucky. 

Passing over the intermediate details, the governor, on 
the evening of the 6th of November, with a force of nine 
hundred men, was within a mile and a half of the Pro- 
phet's town, where he halted the army, to make a final 
effort to prevent the necessity of an attack. This effort 
proved unavailing. The army then marched towards the 
village. This led to a conference with the Indians, who 
announced their pacific intentions, and agreed that the 
terms of peace should be settled on the following day. 
A halt was ordered, and majors Waller Taylor and 
Marston Clark, and colonel William Piatt, were directed 
to examine and select a suitable spot for an encampment. 
The two former reported that they had found a place, 
combining all that could be desired, on the bank of a 
small stream, nearly surrounded by an open prairie, on 
the north of the town. On this spot, late in the evening 
of the 6th, the army was encamped. The details of the 
severe and brilliant action which took place on the fol- 
lowing morning, are familiar to the reading public. We 
have not space to give them. The Indians made a fierce 
and gallant attack, but were as gallantly met, and finally 
compelled to retreat. 

The officers and soldiers acted with great bravery, and 
v/ere specially noticed in the official letter of the com- 
mander-in-chief. The number of men killed, including 
those who died of their wounds, w^as upwards of fifty ; 
the wounded were more than double that number. The 
loss of the Indians, in killed, was about the same with 
that of the whites. They left thirty-eight dead on the 
field of battle. Some were buried in the town, and oth- 
ers, it is supposed, died of their wounds subsequently. 
The force of governor Harrison on the day of action, 
amounted to about nine hundred. The traders estimated 
the Indian force at from eight hundred to one thousand 
men. Captain Wells, the Indian agent, assured a gen- 
tlemen of Ohio, now living, that several of the Indians 



GENERAL HARRISON. 33 

engaged in the battle, who visited Fort Wayne after the 
action, stated their number to have been near twelve hun- 
dred, and that the proportion of wounded was unusually 
preat. It is an act of justice to the commander-in-chief 
to add, that a ball passed through his cravat, bruising' his 
neck, and another struck his saddle and then hit his 
thigh. The horse on which he rode was severely w^oun- 
ded in the head. 

No battle ever fought in the United States, has been 
more extensively examined or severely criticised than 
the battle of Tippecanoe. Soon after its occurrence, the 
enemies of governor Harrison severely censured his con- 
duct, and charged upon him that he permitted the Indians 
to select his camping ground, and was taken by surprise 
on the morningr of the attack. These charges, allhourrh 
generally discredited, and made by irresponsible persons, 
called out the testimony of the officers and men eneratred 
m the action, and thus placed all the facts before the 
public. In regard to the first of these charges, general 
Waller Taylor, of Indiana, under date of 15th of July, 
1823, says : " The Indians did not dictate to the gover- 
nor the position to encamp the army, theniglit before the 
battle of Tippecanoe. After the army reached the In- 
dian town, in the afternoon, perhaps about sun-set, the 
governor ordered major Clark and myself to proceed to 
the left, and endeavor to find a suitable place for encamp- 
ment; w^e did so, and discovered the place upon which 
the battle was fought the next morning; upon our return 
to the army, we reported to the governor our opinion 
about the place, which we stated to be favorable for an 
encani|)ment."* This statement is corroborated by col- 
onel VVilliam Piatt, late of Cincinnati, who was also in 
the action. Major Charles Larrabee, a brave officer, who 
was also present, says, under date of 13th October, 1823 : 
" Three officers, well able to judge, went out in search of 
a place, and they reported the one taken up. The situa- 
tion was such, that if the army had been called upon to 
make choice of a place to fight the Indians, I venture to 
say, nine-tenths would have made that their selection." f 

T — - - I .1 „ . 

* Dawson. f lb, 
2* 



34 SKETCHES OF 

In the year following, general Hopkins, of Kentucky, 
a revolutionary officer, wiiile on an expedition against 
the Peoria towns in Indiana, visited the battle ground of 
Tippecanoe, and expressed the opinion that the spot on 
which general Harrison encamped, w-as the best in the 
neighborhood of the Prophet's town. In this opinion 
the officers of this expedition concurred ; and such, we 
are authorized to say, has been the fact with many mili- 
tary men, who have since visited the scene of action. 

In reply to the second charge, Joel Cook, Josiah Snel- 
ling, R. C. Barton, O. G. Burton, Nathaniel F. Adams, 
Charles Fuller, A. Hawkins, George Gooding, H. Biirch- 
stead, Josiah D. Foster, and Hosea Bloodgood, all of 
them officers of the fourth regiment. United States in- 
fantry, and in the battle of Tippecanoe, say, under their 
own proper hands: "We deem it our duty to state, as 
incontestable facts, that the commander-in-chief through- 
out the campaign, and in the hour of battle, proved him- 
self the soldier and the g-eneral — that on the night of the 
action, by his order, we slept on our arms, and rose on 
our posts; that notwithstanding the darkness of the 
night, and the most consummate savage cunning of the 
enemy in eluding our sentries, and rapidity in rushing 
through the guards, we were not found unprepared : 
that few of the men were able to enter our camp, and 
those few doomed never to return; that in pursuance of 
his orders, which were adapted to every emergency, the 
enemy were defeated with a slaughter almost unparallel- 
ed among savages. Indeed, one sentiment of confidence, 
respect, and atTection towards the commander-in-chief, 
pervaded the whole line of the army, any attempt to de- 
stroy which, we shall consider as an insult to our under- 
standings, and an injury to our feelings." * 

Major Larrabee, under date of Fort Knox, January 8th, 
1812, says, "at the commencement of the action, my 
company were at rest in their tents, with their clothes 
and accoutrements on, their guns lying by their sides, 
loaded, and bayonets fixed, and were by my order para- 
ded in line of battle, ready to meet the enemy witiiin 

* Dawson. 



GENERAL HARRISON'. 35 

forty seconds from the commencement of the action, all 
of which was performed one or two minutes before a man 
of the company was wounded."* 

The officers and non-commissioned officers and pri- 
vates of the militia corps (Hargrave's excepted) of Knox 
county, in Indiana, who served in this campaign, held a 
meeting in Vincennes, 7th December, 1811, and passed 
the following resolutions, unanimously: 

*' That it is a notorious fact, known to the whole army, 
that all the changes of position made by the troops du- 
ring the action of the 7th ultimo, and by which the vic- 
tory was secured, were made by the direction of the com- 
mander-in-chief, and generally executed under his imme- 
diate superintendence. 

" That it was owing to the skill and valor of the com- 
mander-in-chief, that the victory of Tippecanoe was ob- 
tained. 

" That we have the most perfect confidence in the com- 
mander-in-chief, and shall always feel a cheerfulness in 
serving under him, whenever the exigencies of the coun- 
try may require it."f 

General Thomas Scott, of Indiana, under date of Vin- 
cennes, July 25, 1823, says: 

" I have thought, and still think, that few generals 
would have faced danger at so many points as general Har- 
rison did in the action of Tippecanoe. Wherever the ac- 
tion was warmest, was general Harrison to be found, and 
heard encouragingand cheeringthe officers and soldiers. ":|: 

Mr. Adam Walker, of Keene, New Hampshire, a 
printer by profession, who was in the action, says, in 
his published journal: 

" General Harrison received a shot through the rim 
of his hat. In the heat of the action his voice was fre- 
quently heard, and easily distinguished, giving his or- 
ders in the same calm, cool and collected manner, with 
which we had been used to receive them on drill or pa- 
rade. The confidence of the troops in the general was 
unlimited." 

General John O'Fallon, now residing in St. Louis, a 
nephew of general George Rogers Clark, and a gallant 

* Dawson. f lb. i lb. 



3'6 SKETCHES OF 

officer of the late war, havinc: distinguished himself at 
the siege of Fort Meigs and the battle of the Thames, in 
a late speech, at a public meeting in that city, in speak- 
ing of general Harrison, says : 

" At the age of nineteen, I first became acquainted 
with the distinguished patriot in whose behalf we have 
assembled, and having been by his side through nearly 
the whole of the late war, I can bear testimony to his 
cool, undaunted and collected courage, as well as to his 
skill, as an able, efficient and active officer. After the 
battle of Tippecanoe, which has thrown so much glory 
over our country's arms, it was universally admitted thai 
general Harrison was the only officer that could have saved 
the army from defeat and massacre. ^^ 

In dismissing this part of our subject, it is proper to 
say, that at the commencement of the attack, the com- 
mander-in-chief had risen, and was seated by the fire in 
conversation with Wells, Taylor, Owen and Hurst, the 
three latter his aids-de-camp, and the former command- 
ing the mounted riflemen. These individuals had been 
awakened by their commander, before four o'clock, and 
preparations were making, at the moment of the attack, 
for the troops generally to turn out. Additional testi- 
mony, of a high and unimpeachable character, might, if 
necessary, be adduced to repel the charge of governor 
Harrison's having been taken by surprise. 

Another charge circulated against the commander-in- 
chief, is, that he put the gallant Daviess on his white 
horse, in consequence of which that officer lost his life. 
In reply to this unfounded allegation, it is only necessary 
to say, that Major Daviess was killed whilst bravely 
charging on foot, and that he was not on general Harri- 
son's horse, nor any other horse during the engagement. 
This charge has been varied so as to make Owen, instead 
of Daviess, the individual who was killed on general 
Harrison's white horse. This is equally untrue. Owen 
was killed upon his own white horse, and was not, at any 
time, during the action, on either of general Harrison's 
horses. The facts in this case have been stated, dis- 
tinctly, by the commander-in-chief, in a letter to Dr. 
Scott of Frankfort, Kentucky. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 37 

"I had in the campaigii, for my own ridinor, a gray 
mare and a sorrel horse. They were both fine riding 
nags, hut the mare was uncommonly spirited and active. 
I generally rode them alternately, day and day about. On 
the day we got to the town, I was on the mare, and as it 
was our invariable rule to have the horses saddled and 
bridled through the night, the saddle was kept upon her, 
and, like other horses belonging to my family, she was 
lied to a picket driven into the ground, in the rear of my 
marquee, and between that and the baggage wagon. In 
the night the mare pulled up the picket and got loose. 
The dragoon sentinel awakening- my servant Georore, the 
latter caught the mare, and tied her to the wagon wheel 
on the back side. When the alarm took place I called 
for the mare. George, being aroused from his sleep, 
and confoundedly frightened, forgot that he had removed 
her to the other side of the wagon, and was unable to 
find her. In the meantime, major Taylor's servant had 
brought up his horse. The major observed that I had bet- 
ter mount him, and he would get another and follow me. 
I did so. Poor Owen accompanied me, mounted upon 
a remarkably white horse. Before we got to the angle, 
which was first attacked, Owen was killed. I at that 
time supposed that it was a ball which had passed over 
the heads of the infantry that had killed him ; but 1 am 
persuaded that he was killed by one of the two Indians 
who got within the lines, and that it was extremely 
probable that they mistook him for me. Taylor joined 
me in a few minutes after, mounted on my gray mare. 
I immediately directed him to go and get another. He 
returned to my quarters, and preferring my sorrel horse to 
another of his own that was there, mounted him, and we 
thus continued on each other's horses, till near the dose 
of the action. Being then with both my aids-de-camp, 
Taylor and Hurst, in the rear of the right fiank line, the 
fire of several Indians near to the line was directed at us. 
One of their balls killed the horse that Taylor was riding, 
and another passed through the sleeve of his coat, a third 
wounded the horse I was riding in the head, and a fourth 
was very near terminating my earthly career." 

In December, 1811, the legislative council, and house 

D 



38 SKETCHES OF 

of representatives of the Indiana territory, presented an 
address to governor Harrison, in reference to the battle 
of Tippecanoe, in which they bear testimony to his " su- 
perior capacity," "integrity," and " other qualities which 
adorn the mind in a superlative degree." 

In December, 1811, the Hon. John J. Crittenden mov- 
ed the following resolution in the legislature of Ken- 
tucky, which, after being fully discussed, was carried 
with only two or three dissenting votes. 

"Resolved, that in the late campaign against the In- 
dians on the Wabash, governor William Henry Harrison 
has, in the opinion of this legislature, behaved like a 
hero, a patriot and a general ; and that for his cool, delib- 
erate, skillful, and gallant conduct in the late battle of 
Tippecanoe, he well deserves the warmest thanks of the 
nation." This resolution was approved by governoi 
Scott. 

President Madison, on the 18th of December, 1811, in 
a message to Congress, says, in regard to this battle: 

"While it is deeply lamented that so many valuable 
lives have been lost in the action which took place on the 
7th ultimo, congress will see with satisfaction the daunt- 
less spirit and fortitude displayed by every description of 
the troops engaged, as well as the collected firmness 
which distino-uished their commander on an occasion re- 
quiring the utmost exertion of valor and discipline." 

M'Afee in his History of the Late War, says : "After 
much altercation, by which the battle of Tippecanoe was 
fought over again, and fully investigated, in all the pub- 
lic circles of the western country, the public opinion pre- 
ponderated greatly in favor of the governor. AH the ma- 
terial accusations of his enemies were disproved ; and 
after all the testimony had been heard, the common opin- 
ion seemed to be, that the army had been conducted with 
prudence, and that the battle had been fought as well as 
it could have been by any general, considering the time 
and manner of the attack." 

Dawson, in his Life of Harrison, says : " The battle of 
Tippecanoe had a different character from any one that 
had ever before been fought with the Indians. A victory 
had never been obtained over them whexe the ibrce on 



GENERAL HARRISON. 39 

both sides was nearly cijiial, and in no battle that had 
ever before been loiight with thein^ were there so many 
killed in proportion to the nuinl)(;r engaged." The same 
writer adds : "That mutual confidence which oufrht al- 
ways to subsist between the commander ot" an army and 
the troops commanded, perhaps never had been in a high- 
er degree manifested, than at the battle ot" Tippecanoe. 
Wherever his presence was required during the action, 
there was the governor to be found. The plan he had 
laid down previous to the battle, was so welt understood 
by his men, that, notwithstanding the enemy was not 
really expected that night, within less than two minutes 
after the first fire was heard, every man was at his post." 

Judae Hall, himself an olhcer in the late war with 
Great Britain, in speaking of the battle of Tippecanoe, 
says : "As i'ar as any commander is entitled to credit, 
independent of his army, he (general Harrison,) merits 
and has received it. He shared every danger and fatigue 
to which his army was exposed. In the battle he was 
in more peril than any other individual ; for he was per- 
sonally known to every Indian, and exposed himself fear- 
lessly, on horseback, at all points of the attack, during 
the whole engagement. Every important movement 
was made by his express order." 

Finally, we take leave of this subject, in the language 
of the same eloquent writer : " The field of Tippecanoe 
has become classic ground ; the American traveler pau- 
ses there to contemplate a scene which has become hal- 
lowed by victory; the people of Indiana contemplate 
with pride the battle-ground on which their militia won 
imperishable honor, and their infant state became enrolled 
in the ranks of patriotism."* 

* Hall'd Memoir of Harrison, 



40 SKETCHES OF 



CHAPTER V. 

Governor Harrison visits Kentucky. — Appoijitcd Major General 
in the Militia of that state. — Brigadier iu the United States 
army. — Commander-in-chief of the North-western army.-^ 
Relieves Fort Wayne. — Leads an expedition against the Wa-. 
bash Indians. — Appoints Winchester to the command of the 
left wing of the army. — Refutation of the charge that he had 
intrigued for Winchester's command. — lieconciles the troops 
to serve under Winchester. — Plan of campaign. 

During the early part of the year 1812, the Indians, 
instigated by British influence, continued their depreda- 
tions on the north-western frontiers, notwithstanding 
their signal defeat at Tippecanoe. This led the gov- 
ernors of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, to en- 
gage in the work of placing their respective states and 
territories in a posture of defence, or in raising volun- 
teers for border operations. On the 18th of .lune, a new 
aspect was given to the affairs of the west, by the dec- 
laration of war, made by the United States against Great 
Britain. This measure, while it was hailed with patri- 
otic enthusiasm, throughout the west, brought with it 
many fearful apprehensions of danger and bloodshed, in 
consequence of the defenceless condition of the north- 
western frontier. It is honorable to the patriotism and 
military talents of governor Harrison, that in this hour of 
peril, the people of the west looked up to him, as the 
soldier who was to protect their homes and repel inva- 
sion. 

The secretary at war had directed governor Harrison 
to take command of all the troops of the Indiana and Il- 
linois territories, to carry on the war against the Indians 
in that quarter ; and had also authorized him to call on 
the governor of Kentucky, for any portion of the quota 
of five thousand five hundred men of that state, not in 
service. Under this authority, and on the invitation of 
governor Scott, he visited Kentucky, in the month of 
August, to confer in regard to these troops ; and vi^as re- 
ceived with distinguished honors by the people and the 



GENERAL HARRISON. 41 

public authorities. Previous to this time, about eighteen 
hundred volunteers, part of the quota of five thousand 
five hundred men, umler the command of general John 
Payne, had been ordered to rendezvous at Georgetown, 
preparatory to marching to reinforce general Hull. 
There was a pervading public sentiment, that governor 
Harrison should head these troops; but the authority 
with which he was invested by the president, did not en- 
title him to command any corps not intended for opera- 
tions in the western territories. Governor Harrison not 
being a citizen of Kentucky, the executive of that state 
had technical difficulties to surmount in giving him the 
appointment, although wished by the army at Detroit, 
and sanctioned by the public feeling throughout the state. 
He accordingly called a council of such members of 
congress, and officers of the state and general govern- 
ments, as could be hastily assembled. Among them 
were ex-governors Shelby and Greenup, Henry Clay, 
Judge Todd, of the supreme court of the United States,, 
Judge Innis, of the federal court, general Samuel Hop- 
kins, and colonel R. M. Johnson, who unanimously ad- 
vised governor Scott to ofive Harrison a brevet commis- 
sion of major-general in the Kentucky militia; and 
authorize him to take the command of the detachment 
under Payne, then marching to Detroit. The appoint- 
ment was accordingly made on the 25th of August. 

At this time, brigadier-general James Winchester, of 
the army of the United States, was recruiting at Lexing- 
ton. Having written to the secretary at war, that he inten- 
ded to assume the command of the troops under Payne, 
he set off and overtook the detachment at Cincinnati. 
Upon general Harrison's arrival at that place, on the 
morning ni^ the 27ih, he informed general Winchester of 
the authority he had received to take command of the 
Kentucky troops, but invited him to continue with the 
army. General Winchester, however, returned to Lex-. 
ington. On the 28th, general Harrison wrote to the sec-, 
retary at war, announcing the appointment he had receiv-^. 
ed from the governor of Kentucky; and, in a lucid and 
able manner, sucrs^ested a plan of operations for the de-^ 
leuce of the north-west. On the 30th, he left Cincinaaili,, 

e3 



42 SKETCHES OF 

and joined his troops on the following day, forty miles 
north of that place. On the 2nd of September, near 
Piqua, he was overtaken by an express, from the war de- 
department, informing him that he had been appointed a 
brigadier-general in the United States army, and assigned 
the command of the troops in Indiana and Illinois, — 'he 
acceptance of which appointment he held under advise- 
ment. On the 3rd, he reached Piqua, when he learned 
that Fort Wayne was invested by the Indians. Before 
reaching Piqua, he was informed that general Winches- 
ter had been directed by the secretary at war, to command 
in person, the detachment ordered to reinforce general 
Hull. This order had been given before the department 
had been informed of the commission which the governor 
of Kentucky had conferred upon general Harrison. He 
immediately wrote to general Winchester, to come to 
Piqua, and assume the command of the detachment. 
On the 4th of September, hearing that a body of British 
and Indians had left Maiden, to assist in reducing Fort 
Wayne, he determined not to wait for Winchester, but to 
move to the relief of that place, which was reached on 
the morning of the 12th. The Indians fled upon the ap- 
proach of the army, without having effected the reduc- 
tion of the fort. 

General Winchester not having arrived, General Har- 
rison determined to employ the troops in destroying the 
Indian towns on the Wabash and Elk Hart. Colonel 
Wells led a body of troops to the latter place, and the 
general, in person, headed those destined to the former. 
At both places, the Indian settlements were broken up, 
and large quantities of corn destroyed. After the return 
of the troops to Fort Wayne, general Winchester arri- 
ved and took command of that portion of the army wliich 
had been assigned to him by the war department, com- 
posed of the regiments of Allen, Lewis and Scott, of the 
Kentucky troops, Garrard's troop of cavalry of the same 
state, and a part of the 17th U. S. regiment of infantry, 
under Wells. The command of the n sidue of the Ken- 
tucky troops, embracing Simrall's regiment of cavalry, 
and the regiments of infantry under Jennings, Poague 
and Barbee, was retained by general Harrison, they hav- 



GENERAL HARRISON. 43 

ing bfen placed under him, as governor of Indiana, by 
tlie secretary at war. This ohantro of commanders, was 
very luiacu-eptable to the first named detachment, the 
troops having become enthusiastically attached to gen- 
eral Harrison. From the ijeneral order, issued by him, 
at Fort Wayne, on the 10th, upon turning over the com- 
mand to Winchester, the following par^igraph is taken. 

" If any thing could soften the regret which the gen- 
eral feels at panino- with troops which have so entirely 
won his confidence and affection, it is the circumstance 
of his committino' them to the charge of one of the he- 
roes of our glorious revolution ; a man distinguished as 
well for the service he has rendered the country, as for 
the possession of every qualification which constitutes 
the gentleman." 

It required, indeed, all the influence of general Harri- 
son and the oflficers of the detachment, to reconcile the 
men to this change of commanders. 

On the 24th, a letter was received from the war de- 
partment, by general Harrison, in reply to his communi- 
cations from Cincinnati, in which the secretary assured 
him, that in taking the command of the north-westera 
frontier, he had '• anticipated the wishes of the presi- 
dent." A few days afterwards, he received another dis- 
patch from the department, dated on the 17th of Septem- 
ber, announcing that the president had appointed him to 
the command of the whole western department of the 
army. Ctmnected with this appointment, was the fol- 
lowing order: " Having provided fir the protection of 
the western frontier, you will retake Detroit, and with a 
view to the conquest of Upper Canada, you will pene- 
trate the country as far as the force under your command 
will justify." In a letter to governor Shelby of the 
same date, the secretary says : " to n)eet existing contin- 
gencies, after consulting the lawful authority vested in 
the president, it has been determined to vestthe command 
of all forces on the western and north-western frontier, 
in an officer whose military character and knowledge of 
the cojititry appeared to he combined with the public con- 
fidence. General Harrison has accordingly been appoint- 
ed to the chief command, with authority to employ offi- 



44 SKEtCHES OP 

ccTS, and to draw from the public stores, and every other 
practicable source, all the means of effectuating the ob- 
ject of his command." 

This was in reply to a letter, in which the patriotic 
governor had suggested to the president the expediency 
of his appointing a board of war, similar to that appoint- 
ed by Washington, in 1791, to direct the military opera- 
tions in this region. It shows the unlimited confidence 
reposed by president Madison, in general Harrison. The 
command assiorned to him under such flatterinsj circum- 
stances, involved duties of the most responsible kind, 
and required talents of the highest order. 

General M'Afee, an officer in the late war, in referring 
.to this appointment, says : "The services which he was 
required to perform, were, in the opinion of old, experi- 
enced and able officers, the most-extensive and arduous, 
that had ever been required from any military commander 
in America. The endless number of posts and scattered 
settlements which he was obliged to maintain and pro- 
tect, against numerous and scattered bands of Indians, 
while he was contending with difficulties almost insur 
mountable, in the main expedition against Maiden, were 
sufficient to employ all the time, and talents, and resour- 
ces of the greatest military genius at the head of a well 
appointed army." 

When general Harrison was directed to repair to the 
frontier of Ohio, the secretary at war authorized him to 
designate an officer to take command of the troops inten- 
ded to operate in the direction of the Wabash and Illi- 
nois rivers. On the 22nd of September, under date from 
St. Mary's, the general appointed major-general Hopkins, 
of Kentucky, to this command. At the same time, col- 
onel Russel himself, one of the heroes of King's Moun- 
tain, was leading an expedition of mounted rangers, 
against the Indians of the Peoria towns, in Illinois. 

The commander-in-chief, under date of Piqua, 27th 
of September, announced to the war department, his ar- 
rangements for the campaign in the following terms: — 
*' The final arrangement for the march of the army to- 
wards Detroit is as follows : The right column, compos- 
ed of the Pennsylvania and Virginia troops, are directed 



GENERAL HARRISON*. 45 

to rendezvous at Wooster, a town upon the head waters 
of JNIohecan, John's creek, thirty-live miles north of 
Mount Vernon, and forty-five miles west of Canton, and 
proceed froni thence by Upper Sandusi<y, to the rapids 
of the Miami. The middle column, consisting of twelve 
hundred Ohio militia, will march from Urbana, where 
they now are, taking general Hull's track to the Rapids; 
and the left column, composed of a detachment of reg- 
ulars, under colonel Wells, and six Kentucky regiments, 
will proceed from Fort Defiance down the Miami, to the 
Rapids. The mounted force, under an officer whom I 
shall select for that purpose, will take the route mention- 
ed in my former letter, from Fort Wayne up the St. 
Joseph's, and across the waters of the river Raisin. 
Upon reflection, 1 am induced to abandon the scheme of 
attacking Detroit ; for should it be successful, as the in- 
fantry will not be in readiness to support them, it must 
necessarily be abandoned, and the inhabitants be more 
exposed to the depredations of the Indians than they now 
are. A more useful employment will be, to sweep the 
western side of the strait and lake, of the Indians who 
are scattered from Brownstown to the Rapids, rioting upon 
the plunder of the farms which have been abandoned." 

From Fort Wayne, afeneral Winchester proceeded 
down the Miami of the lake to Defiance, but was impe- 
ded in his march by a large body of Indians, and some 
British troops, with artillery. Of the advance of this 
force towards Fort Wayne, general Harrison was inform- 
ed on the same day, by two expresses, one from governor 
Meigs, enclosingr a letter from Cleveland, and the other 
from general Winchester. General Harrison, on the 
evening of the same day, started to Defiance with two 
regiments of infantry, and the whole of the mounted 
men, and reached that place on the 2nd of October; but 
the enemy had passed that point, some days before. In 
the march to Defiance, the troops suffered sfreatly : the 
weather was cold and inclement, and the want of tents 
was severely felt. The general shared the same priva- 
tions as his troops, and by his fortitude and cheerfulness, 
served to encourage his men. While at Defiance, news 
leached the army, that general Harrison had been ap- 



46 SKETCHES OF i 

pointed to the command of the whole north-western de- 
partment, — a fact which gave great satisfaction to the 
troops, and contributed to reconcile them to the arduous 
service in which they were engag--ed. When making 
this appointment, the department had given to general 
Winchester, the option of remaining with Harrison, or 
of joining the army on the Niagara frontier. General 
Harrison, in announcing his appointment to general Win- 
chester, says : " Need 1 add, that it will give me the most 
heartfelt pleasure, if you could determine to remain with 
us." On the 3rd of October, at camp Defiance, under a 
general order, in yielding up the command of his detach- 
ment, general Winchester said : 

" I have the honor (>f announcing to this army the ar- 
rival of general Harrison, who is duly authorized by the 
executive of the federal government, to take the com- 
mand of the north-western army. 

"This officer, enjoying the implicit confidence of the 
states, from whose citizens this army is and will he col- 
lected, and possessing himself, great military skill and 
reputation, the general is confident in the belief that his 
presence in this army, in the character of its chief, will 
be hailed with universal approbation." 

General Winchester, preferring the service in the north- 
west, to that on the Niagara frontier, general Harrison 
immediately invested him with the command of the left 
wing of the army, the advance portion of which was then 
at Fort Defiance. 

An accusation has been preferred against general Har- 
rison, by Winchester and his friends, that he had in- 
trigued with the war department to obtain the command, 
with which he was now invested. This charge is found- 
ed on the fact that the officers of the regiments of Poague, 
Jennings, and Barbee, had requested the president to ap- 
point general Harrison to the supreme command in the 
west. It is to be borne in mind, that Winchester had no 
right to command these regiments — they had been dis- 
tinctly assigned to Harrison by the proper authority. 
Winchester had no command but of the single detach- 
ment sent from Kentucky for the relief of Hull. How 
then could the memorial of Harrison's own officers, in 



GENERAL HARRISON. 47 

favor of his beingr made commander-in-chief, interfere 
with the rigiits of g^eneral Winchester, when he never 
had been invested with, nor promised that station? The 
memorial did not ask that Winchester should be sus- 
pended in the command of his particular detachment, but 
simply that Harrison should be placed in a new position. 
This charge lias been fully met, however, by the written 
statements of general Waller Taylor, late of Indiana, the 
Rev. Samuel Shannon, captain John Arnold, the Rev. 
James Sugget, and general Thomas Bodley, of Ken- 
tucky; all of whom were present with the army at the 
period of this alledged intrigue. Their statements, made 
in 1817, '18 and '19, are published at length in Daw- 
son's Life of Harrison. They prove substantially and 
fully, that when general Winchester arrived at Fort 
Wayne to take command of the detachment assigned 
him by the secretary at war, that great disapprobation 
was expressed by the officers and men, at the circum- 
stance ; that the dissatisfaction was so great as to amount 
almost to open mutiny — that Harrison, by his general 
orders and his personal appeals to the officers and troops, 
did much to reconcile them to the change, and, in short, 
that but for his influence and most active exertions, the 
men would have refused to serve under general Win- 
chester. 

It is due to the reputation of general Winchester, to 
add, that the principal objection of the volunteers to serv- 
ing under him, arose from the fact of his being an officer 
in the regular army. They had no personal objection to 
him. Indeed, it was not so much a dislike to general 
Winchester, which created the difficulty, as a desire to 
serve under one who had so recently gained the brilliant 
victory of Tippecanoe, and was familiar with Indian 
warfare. 

From Defiance, general Harrison returned to St. Ma- 
ry's, and from thence passed through Piqua and Urbana 
to Franklinton, which was the line of march for the right 
wing of the army. His object in returning to this place 
was to hasten the supplies of provisions, clothing and 
ammunition, and make other arranjjements for the ad- 
vance of the troops. While at St. Mary's, on his way 



48 SKETCHES OF 

to Franklinton, he was informed that Fort Wayne was 
ao'ain invested. He forthwith dispatched colonel Allen 
Trimble, with five hundred mounted riflemen, to tlie re- 
lief of the place. At Franklinton, he received a dispatch 
from the worthy officer commanding this expedition, in- 
forming him of its partial failure, in consequence of the 
defection of one half of his troops, who abandoned him 
upon reaching Fort Wayne. He proceeded, however, 
with the remainder, and destroyed two Indian villages* 
About the same time, intelligence reached the com- 
mander-in-chief, of the failure of the expedition under 
general Hopkins, against the Indian villages on the Illi- 
nois river. Another expedition, prosecuting at the same 
time, and in the same region, under governor Edwards 
and colonel Russel, surprised the Kickapoo town of Pe- 
oria, at the head of Peoria lake, and either killed or dis- 
persed the inhabitants. In connection with these opera- 
tions, the brilliant defence of Fort Harrison, under the 
command of the gallant captain, Zachary Taylor, may be 
named. It covered that young officer with glory, and 
led to his being honored with the brevet commission of 
major, in the United States army. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Movements of the army. — Tuppcr's expedition to the Rapids. — 
Campbell's expedition to Mississiniway. — General Harrison 
recommends a fleet on lake Erie.— Plan of operations for the 
campaign. — Again urges on the Secretary at War the neces- 
sity of a fleet on lake Erie. — Winchester's movement to the 
Rapids. — His movement to the river Raisin, and defeat on 
the 22nd of Januaiy. — The question examined, on whom rests, 
the blame of that defeat. — Opinion of M^ood — M'Afee's 
opuiions. — Address of the Kentucky and Ohio ofilcers. 

We now recur to movements more immediately under 
the direction of the comm.an.der-in-chief». *■' The troops. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 49 

Rdvancing on the line of operations, which passed from 
Delaware, by Upper to Lower Sandnsky, composed of 
the brig-ades from Virginia and Pennsylvania, and that 
ol? Perkins' from Ohio, were desicrnated in general orders, 
and commonly known as the right wing of the army; 
Tappers brigade from Ohio, moving on Hull's road, for- 
med the centre division ; and the" Kentuckians, under 
Winchester, were styled the left wing." 

Early in November, general Tupper of the Ohio mili- 
tia, with a detachment of six hundred and fifty men, 
marched to the rapids of the Miami of the lake, for the 
purpose of attacking a force of several hundred Indians, 
and some British troops, who were at that point gather- 
ing corn. Before starting, he advised general Winchester 
of the intended movement. He reached the foot of the 
Rapids, and made an effort to cross the river in thenitrht, 
for the purpose of meeting the enemy next mornfng. 
Failing in this, he dispatche^d an express to general Win- 
chester, on the 14th, stating his situation, and asking for 
a reinforcement. 

After further ineffectual attempts to cross the river, and 
to decoy the enemy across, he returned to his encamp- 
ment. M'Afee, in his history of the war, thus notices the 
progress and result of the expedition : "When Tupper's 
second express reached general Winchester's camp, he 
found that a detachment of four hundred men had been 
sent out under the command of colonel Lewis, to march 
to his support; they proceeded, on the morning of the 
15th, down the left bank of the river, and in the course 
of the night ensign Charles S. Todd was sent with a few 
men by colonel Lewis to apprise Tupper of his approach, 
to concert the time and manner of forming a junction of 
the two corps. Todd found Tupper's camp evacuated, 
and the bodies of two men, who had been killed and 
scalped. Todd returning with this information to colo- 
nel Lewis, that officer retreated with his command to 
Winchester's camp. If this expedition did not produce 
all the good which might have resulted from it, it was of 
great service in one piirticular. The detachment of Bri- 
tish and Indians, consisting of about four hundred of the 
latter, and seventy-five of the former, fell back upon the 
3 E 



50 SKETCHES OF 

river Raisin, and gave up the idea of removing the corn 
from the abandoned farms at the Rapids, which was the 
object of their being at that place." 

About the period of this enterprise, the commander-in- 
chief resolved to send an expedition against the Indian 
towns on the Mississiniway river, one of the branches 
of the Wabash. This measure was rendered the more 
necessary from the failure of the expedition under gen- 
eral Hopkins, already mentioned. The detachment 
was placed under lieutenant colonel Campbell, of the 
19th United States regiment. It was composed of six 
hundred mounted men. They left Franklinton on the 
25th of November, passed Greenville on the 14th of 
December, and reached the first village on the Missis- 
siniway, on the 18th, which was attacked, and eight men 
killed, and forty-two prisoners taken. Two other towns 
"were visited and destroyed, the inhabitants having fled. 
Before day on the following morning, the Indians at- 
tacked colonel Campbell's camp. A severe action of an 
hour ensued, when the Indians were finally charged with 
great spirit and dispersed. They left fifteen dead on the 
ground, others were thrown into the river or carried ofi". 
Colonel Campbell had eight killed, and forty-eight 
wounded. When the detachment reached Greenville, on 
their return, one-half of it was unfit for duty, being ei- 
ther wounded, frost-bitten, or sick. General Harrison 
issued a general order, after the expedition was termina- 
ted, from which we quote the concluding paragraph. It 
must be universally admired, not less for the beauty of 
the sentiment, than the eloquence with which it is ex- 
pressed : 

" But the character of this gallant detachment, exhib- 
iting as it did, perseverance, fortitude and bravery, would, 
however, be incomplete, if in the midst of victory they 
had forgotten the feelings of humanity. It is with the 
sincerest pleasure, that the general has heard that the 
most punctual obedience was paid to his orders, in not 
only saving all the women and children, but in sparing 
all the warriors who ceased to resist; and, that when 
vigorously attacked by the enemy, the claims of mercy 
prevailed over every sense of their own danger, and the 



GENERAL HARRISON. 5-1 

heroic band respected the lives of their prisoners. Let 
an account of murdered innocence be opened in tiie re- 
cords of Heaven, aj^ainst our enemies alone. Tiie Amer- 
ican soldier will follow the example of his government, 
and the sword of the one, will not be raised an^ainst the 
fallen and the helpless, nor the jrold of the other paid for 
the scalps of a massacred enemy." 

I;- The troops composing the left wing of the army, hav- 
ing finished the erection of Fort Winchester, vyere direc- 
ted by the commander-in-chief, early in December, to 
march to the Rapids, so soon as provisions for a few 
weeks had been accumulated. On the r2lh of this 
month, general Harrison, in a letter to the war depart- 
ment, says : " If there were not some important poliiical 
reason, urging the recovery of the Michigan territory, 
and the capture of Maiden, as soon as these objects can 
possibly be effected ; and that to accomplish them a few 
weeks sooner, expense was to be disregarded, I should 
not hesitate to say, that if a small proportion of the 
sums, which will be expended in the quarter-master's 
department, in the active prosecution of the campaign, 
durinor the winter, was devoted to the obtaining the com- 
marid of lake Erie, the wishes of the government in 
their utmost extent, could be accomplished without diffi- 
culty, in the months of April and May. Maiden, De- 
troit and Macinaw, would fall in rapid succession." 
The necessity of securing the naval ascendency of lake 
Erie, had been forcibly pointed out to the government, 
by general Harrison, as early as the year 1809. 

On the 20th, the commander-in-chief established his 
head quarters at Upper Sandusky. Whilst here, he re- 
ceived a communication from colonel Campbell, inform- 
ing him of the result of the Mississiniway expedition. 
He forthwith started for Chillicothe, to consult with 
governor Meijs about another expedition against the In- 
dians of that quarter. At Franklinlon he received a let- 
ter from the new secretary at war, Mr. Monroe, in which he 
is informed that the president, haviriir great confidence in 
the solidity of his opinion, leaves the object (^f the cam- 
paign entirely to the decision of general Harrison, and 
promises the support of the government to any measures 



62 SKETCHES OF 

he may think proper to adopt. In a letter from Frank* 
linton, dated the 4th of January, 1813, the general says 
to the department: " My plan of operations has been, 
and now is, to occupy the Miami Rapids, and to deposit 
there as much provisions as possible; to move from 
thence vi^ith a choice detachment of the army, and with 
as much provision, artillery and ammunition, as the means 
of transportation will allow — make a demonstration to- 
wards Petroit, and by a sudden passage of the strait 
upon the ice, an actual investiture of Maiden." On the 
8th, in another letter, the general says : " Should our of- 
fensive operations be suspended until spring, it is my 
decided opinion, that the most effectual and cheapest plan 
will be to obtain the command of the lake. This being 
once effected, every difficulty will be removed. An army 
of four thousand men, landed on the north side of the 
lake, below Maiden, will soon reduce that place — retake 
Detroit, and, with the aid of the fleet, proceed down the 
lake to co-operate with the army from Niagara." A few 
days after the date of this letter, the general returned to 
Upper Sandusky, where troops and supplies for the army 
were rapidly accumulatingf. 

We again return to the left wing of the army. M'Af- 
fee, in his " History of the Late War," says : 

" General Harrison had expected, on his first arrival 
at Upper Sandusky, about the 18th of December, to be 
met there by an express from general Winchester, with 
information of his advance to the Rapids, in conformity 
with the advice which had previously been given him. 
As no such information had arrived, he soon afterwards 
dispatched ensign C. S. Todd, division judge advocate 
of the Kentucky troops, to Winchester's camp, on the 
Miami below Defiance. Todd was accompanied by two 
gentlemen of the Michigan territory, and three Wyandott 
Indians. He proceeded directly across the country, and 
performed the journey with a degree of secrecy and dis- 
patch highly honorable to his skill and enterprise, hav- 
ing completely eluded all the scouts of the enemy. He 
was instructed to communicate to general Winchester 
the following directions and plans from the commander- 
in-chief: " that as soon as he had accumulated provisions 



GENERAL HARRISON. 53 

for twenty days, he was authorized to advance to the 
Rapids, where he was to commence the building of huts, 
to induce the enemy to believe that he was going into 
winter quarters ; that he was to construct sleds for the 
main expedition against Maiden, but to impress it on the 
minds of his men that they were for transporting provi- 
sions from the interior; that the different lines of the 
army would be concentrated at that place, and a choice 
detachment from the whole would then be marched rap- 
idly on Maiden ; that in the meantime he was to occupy 
the Rapids, for the purpose of securing the provisions and 
stores forwarded from the other wings of the army." 

On the 22nd, a moderate supply of provisions and cloth- 
ing were received by general Winchester. On the 30th, 
the march for the Rapids was commenced, and, at the 
same time, Mr. Leslie Combs, a volunteer in the army, 
was sent to inform the commander-in-chief of the move- 
ment ; but owing to a severe snow-storm, he did not reach 
him, at Upper Sandusky, until the 11th of January. 

While on his march to the Rapids, a dispatch was 
received by Winchester, from general Harrison, recom- 
mending him to abandon the movement to the Rapids, and 
fall back to Fort Jennings. This was owiufj to the in- 
formation brought by colonel Campbell, from Mississin- 
iway, in regard to the Indians; but the recommendation 
was not followed. On the 10th of January, the detach- 
ment under Winchester reached the Rapids. On the 
11th, a dispatch was sent to inform the commander-in- 
chief of the arrival of the troops at that point; but the 
communication was transmitted by the persons who were 
taking the worn-out pack horses to Fort McArthur, a 
place as distant from the Rapids as Upper Sandusky 
and from which it must then pass through a swampy wil- 
derness of forty miles, to the head quarters of the gene- 
ral, and was finally received by him at the Rapids, the 
point from whence it started. 

On the 12th, generaf Winchester forwarded another 
letter by the same kind of conveyance, to the command- 
er-in-chief, at Sandusky, saying, that no reliance could 
be placed on retaining any of the Kentucky troops, after 
the expiration of their term of service, in February. This 

e3 



54 SKETCHES OF 

communication was sent to Lower Sandusky, with this 
endorsement on the back, "general Tiipper will please 
to forward this letter by express. J. Winchester." It 
did not reach the commander-in-chief until the morning 
of the 16th, and was the first information which he had 
received of Winchester's arrival at the Rapids, although 
general Harrison had directed him to forward intelli- 
gence of that event as early as possible, that he might 
send on the remaining stores and troops. 

On the evening of the 13th, two Frenchmen arrived 
from the river Raisin, with information that the Indians 
had threatened to attack their town, and asking assist- 
ance from general Winchester. On the 14th and 16th, 
other messengers arrived in camp, making similar ap- 
peals. GrRat ardor now prevailed among the troops to 
march to Raisin, and a majority of officers concurring, 
general Winchester agreed to the movement. Raisin is 
thirty-six rniles from the Rapids, and eighteen from Mai- 
den. On the morning of the 17th, colonel Lewis, with 
a detachment of men, moved down to Presque Isle, a dis- 
tance of twenty miles. Here he ascertained that four 
hundred Indians were at the Raisin, and that Elliott was 
expected from Maiden, with a detachment to attack the 
camp at the Rapids. This information was sent back to 
Winchester, who forwarded it in a dispatch to the com- 
mander-in-chief, with information of the movement he 
was making to Frenchtown. The dispatch was sent by 
way of Lower Sandusky, and was met at this place by 
general Harrison, on the morning of the 19th. 

On the 18th, Lewis reached Frenchtown, on the Rai- 
sin, met the enemy at that place, attacked and defeated 
them, with considerable loss. On the night of the 18th, 
a messenofer was sent to Winchester with news of the 
result. The intelligence made the troops under him anx- 
ious to move on to Frenchtown. On the 20th, at night, 
Winchester, with all the troops that could be spared from 
the Rapids, reached Frenchtown, and encamped in an 
open lot of ground, on the right of Lewis' detachment, 
which was defended by some garden pickets. Colonel 
Wells commanded the reinforcement. To him, general 
Winchester named, but did not direct a breast-work, for 



GENERAL HARRISON. 55 

the defence of his camp. The general himself estab- 
lished his head-quarters in a house on the opposite side 
of the river, more than a half a mile from his troops. 
On the 21st, a spot was selected for the whole army to 
camp in good order, with a determination to fortify on 
the next day. Certain information was receivfd through 
the day, that the British were preparing to make an at- 
tack, and that it would be made with dispatch. Colo- 
nel Wells obtained leave, in the evening, to return to the 
Rapids, which place he reached that night, and found 
general Harrison, who had arrived the day before, and 
had made every exertion in his power to hasten on a re- 
inforcement. It should here be stated, that when general 
Harrison, on the 11th, was advised by Mr. Combs' dis- 
patch, of general Winchester's movement towards the 
Raisin, he ordered on some droves of hogs, and held the 
artillery in readiness to march as soon as he should be 
advised of the arrival of the detachment at the Rapids. 
On the 16lh, the commander-in-chief was/rs/ informed of 
Winchester's arrival at the Rapids, and that he rticdito 
■ ted a movement against the enemy, and had sent to Per- 
kins, at Lower Sandusky, for a battalion of men. Gene- 
ral Harrison immediately gave orders for the artillery to 
advance by the way of Portage river, with a guard of 
three hundred men under major Orr. Escorts of provi- 
sions were ordered on the same route; but owing to the 
badness of the roads, slow progress was made. At the 
same time an express was sent to the Rapids for infor- 
mation, which was to return and meet the commander-in- 
chief at Lower Sandusky, which place he reached on the 
following night. On the 18th, a battalion, under major 
Cotgreave, was started from the Rapids. General Harri- 
son determined to follow, that he might have a personal 
consultation with Winchester. At four o'clock, on the 
morning of the 19th, he received a letter from Winches- 
ter, announcinof Lewis' advance to the Raisin, and the 
objects of the expedition. He immediately ordered the 
remaining regiment of Perkins' brigade to march to the 
Rapids, and proceeded there himself. On his way he 
met an express, with intelligence of Lewis' battle on the 
16th. On the morning of the 20ih, he reached the Rap- 



56 SKETCHES OF 

ids, and found that Winchester had marched the evening 
before for the river Raisin, having left Payne in his camp 
with three hundred men. Major Cotgreave was so impe- 
ded by bad roads and ice, that on the night of the 21st, 
he was yet fifteen miles from Raisin. When general 
Harrison reached the Rapids, on the 20th, he sent cap- 
tain Hart express to Frenchtown, that Winchester miglit 
be informed of the movements in the rear, and with in- 
structions to the general " to maintain the position at the 
river Raisin at any rate." On the 21st, a dispatch was 
received from general Winchester, in which he stated, 
that if his force was increased to one thousand or twelve 
hundred, he could maintain the ground he had gained. 
On the evening of that day, Perkins' brigade reached the 
Rapids, and the remaining Kentuckians, under Payne, 
were ordered to march to Winchester, which they did 
next morning. The corps under Cotgreave and Payne, 
Avould have made the army under Winchester considera- 
bly stronger than the amount deemed by him sufficient 
to hold his position. At 12 o'clock, A. M. of the 22nd, 
news of the attack on Winchester reached the Rapids. 
General Harrison immediately ordered the regiment of 
Perkins' brigade to march with all possible expedition, 
and proceeded himself after the detachment under Payne, 
which he soon overtook. In a short time some men were 
met, who announced the total defeat of Winchester's 
forces, and that the British and Indians were pursuing 
them to the Rapids. This report induced the general to 
hasten on with still greater rapidity. In a short time, 
other fugitives were met, who stated that the defeat was 
total, and that resistance on the part of our troops had 
ceased early in the day. A council of the general and 
field officers was then held, who decided that it was im- 
prudent and unnecessary to proceed any further. Some 
parties of active and enterprising men were sent forward 
to assist and bring in those who might have escaped. 
The rest of the detachment returned to the Rapids. 

The tragical events which occurred at Frenchtown, on 
the 22nd and 23rd, would require, in their detail, more 
space than can be assigned them in this work. They 
filled the West with mourning, and have been again and 



GENERAL HARRISON. 57 

ajvain recounted, in every part of our land. Winchester 
had with him in all, nine hundred men. The British 
and Indians, hywhom he was defeated, amounted to near 
three thousand. The loss of Winchester was two hun- 
dred and ninety in killed, massacred and missing. Only 
thirty-three escaped to the Rapids. The British took five- 
hundred and forty-seven prisoners, and the Indians forty- 
five. The loss of the British in killed and wounded is 
supposed to have been between three and four hundred. 

So great a disaster, as the defeat at the river Raisin, 
created much excitement throug^hout the country. The 
question arises, upon whom the blame of this defeat should 
rest ? We propose to say a few words upon this subject. 
In doing so, we disclaim, in advance, all unkind feeling 
towards the name and fame of general Winchester, who 
was a brave soldier of the revolution, and is now •' gath- 
ered to his fathers," — two circumstances sufficient to dis- 
arm criticism, and allay censure. Our only object is to 
show that the blame of this calamity cannot, with any 
justice whatever, be laid upon the commander-in-chief. 

General Harrison has been censured for the advance of 
Winchester to the river Raisin; and, for not reinforcing 
him when there. 

The instructions sent by general Harrison to Winches- 
ter, which were delivered to him on the 24th of Decem- 
ber, at his camp, a few miles below Fort Defiance, by en- 
sign Todd, were, that he should move to the Rapids, 
when twenty days' provisions had been accumulated — 
that when he reached that place, he was to build huts, 
as if going into winter quarters, and then to construct 
sleds, for the main but secret expedition of the cam- 
paign, an attack upon Maiden, contemplated by the com- 
mander-in-chief, after the other lines of the army had 
concentrated at the Rapids. While on his way to the 
Rapids, general Winchester received another dispatch 
from general Harrison, recommending him, in conse- 
quence of information received from colonel Campbell, 
of a large body of Indians on the Wabash, under Te- 
cumthe, to abandon the movement to the Rapids, and fall 
back, with the greater part of his force, to Fort Jen- 
nings. This recommendation was disregarded. So far 
3* 



58 SKETCHES OF 

from any authority being given him to make a movement 
from the Rapids, against the enemy, such a movement 
was in direct violation of the whole plan of the campaign, 
as communicated to him. Of course, general Winches- 
ter could have had no assurances of support, when ma- 
king a movement not contemplated by the commander-in- 
chief, and in violation of his orders. 

After general Harrison was informed that Winchester 
had arrived at the Rapids, which information did not 
reach him until the night of the 16th of January, and 
that he meditated some movement against the enemy, he 
did all in his power to hasten forward the necessary rein- 
forcements. He was then at Upper Sandusky, sixty-five 
miles from the Rapids, and one hundred from Kaisin, the 
point to which Winchester's meditated attack was di- 
rected. The space between the two former points, was 
a swampy wilderness, the ground partly frozen, and al- 
most impassable for troops or artillery. The preceding 
narrative has shown the promptness and energy with 
which general Harrison pushed forward the reinforce- 
ments. His personal exertions to reach the scene of ac- 
tion, were very great. He started from Lower Sandusky 
in a sleigh, with general Perkins, and a servant, to over- 
take the battalion under Cotgreave. "As the sleigh 
went very slow, from the roughness of the road, he took 
the horse of his servant and pushed on alone. Night 
came upon him in the midst of the swamp, which was so 
imperfectly frozen, that the horse sunk to his belly at 
every step. He had no resource but to dismount and 
lead his horse, jumping, himself, from one sod to another, 
which was solid enough to support him. When almost 
exhausted, he met one of Cotareave's men coming^ back 
to look for his bayonet. The general told him, he would 
not only pardon him for the loss, but supply him with 
another, if he would assist him to get his horse through 
the swamp. By his aid the general was enabled to reach 
the camp of the battalion."* 

The gallant colonel Wood, than whom, on a question 
of this kind, there is no higher authority, says : " What 

* M'Afee. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 59 

human means, in the control of general Harrison, could 
prevent the anticipated disaster, and save that corps, 
vhich was already looked upon as lost, as doomed to in- 
evitable destruction? Certainly none — because neither 
orders to halt, nor troops to succor him, could be received 
in time, or at least that was the expectation. He was 
already in motion, and general Harrison still at Upper 
Sandusky, seventy miles in his rear. The weather was 
inclement — the snow was deep — and a large portion of 
the black swamp was yet open. What could a Turenne 
or an Eugene have done, under a pressure of embarrass- 
ing circumstances, more than Harrison did?'''* 

After the action of the 18th, there were powerful rea- 
sons why general Winchester should not abandon his 
position. "The protection of the French inhabitants 
was now an imperative duty. The advance to their town 
had been made at their solicitation; and when the battle 
had commenced, many of them joined the American 
forces, and fought with great gallantry ; and afterwards 
they attacked and killed the straggling Indians, wherever 
they met them. Tl)eir houses were open to our men, and 
they offered to give up the whole of the provisions, which 
yet remained to them, upon condition that they should 
not again be abandoned to the fury of the savages, or 
subjected for what they had done, to be immured in the 
prisons of Maiden. The amount of provisions to be se- 
cured was believed to be very considerable. The duty 
of protecting the faithful inhabitants, however, had been 
so stronorly impressed by their C(mduct, on the minds of 
general Winchester and his men, that an order to retreat 
would not, perhaps, have been very promptly obeyed." 

General M'Affee, another meritorious officer of the 
late war, in referring to this disastrous action, says: 

"From the whole of the facts, which are now before 
the reader, he will be able to judge for himself, with res- 
pect to the causes of the disaster. The advance to the 
river Raisin was a very important movement; it was 
made from the best and most urgent motives; but it is 
questionable whether it was not too hazardous and pre- 
mature. It was a rule with General Harrison, and un- 
doubtedly a very good one, never, in Indian warfare, to 



60 SKETCHES OF 

send out a detachment, unless indispensably necessary, 
and then to make it sufficiently strong to contend with 
the whole force of the enemy. The rule was peculiarly 
applicable in this instance. Frenchtown was within 
eighteen miles of Maiden, the head quarters of the ene- 
my, while it was more than double that distance from 
the Rapids, and about one hundred miles, on an average, 
from the other corps of the American army. The idea 
of reinforcing an advanced corps at. that place, to sup- 
port it against any speedy movement of the enemy, was 
hence altogether chimerical. It should have been strong 
enough in the first instance, or with the reinforcements 
to be immediately sent after it from the Rapids, to main- 
tain its ground, against the whole disposable force of the 
enemy, for a week at least. And this was probably the 
case. The greatest error, judging from the information 
we possess, after the affair is over, does not appear to 
have been so much the advance of the detachment, as the 
neglect to fortify the camp. The force actually on the 
ground, if well posted and well defended by fortifica- 
tions, and amply supplied with ammunition, could cer- 
tainly have resisted such an attack as was made, until 
reinforcements had arrived. On the 21st, general Win- 
chester thus addressed general Harrison: 'All accounts 
from Brownstown and Maiden agree in stating, that the 
enemy is preparing to retake this place ; if he eflfects his 
purpose, he will pay dear for it. A few pieces of artil- 
lery, however, would add to our strength, and* give con- 
fidence to our friends in this place.' Though possessed 
of this information, and lying so near the enemy, that 
they could march at any time in the evening, and attack 
him before day next morning, yet he suifered his men to 
go to rest that night in an open camp, in which they had 
lain a whole day since his arrival at that place." 

Colonel Wood says, again : 

"Unsuspicious, and elated with this flash of success, 
the troops were permitted to select, each for himself, 
such quarters on the west side of the river, as might 
please him best; whilst the general, not liking to be a- 
mongst a parcel of noisy, dirty freemen, took his quarters 
on the ea&t side ! not the least regard being paid to de- 



GENERAL HARRISON. 61 

fence, order, reg^ularity, or system in the posting of the 
different corps." After speakino; of the battle and mas- 
sacre, he proceeds: "thus was there a corps of one thou- 
sand men, the elite of the army, totally sacrificed, in the 
most wanton manner possible ; and that too, without the 
slightest benefit to their country or posterity. With only 
one third or one fourtli of the force destined for that ser- 
vice ; destitute of artillery, of engineers, of men who had 
ever seen or heard the least of an enemy, and with but 
a very inadequate supply of ammunition; how he ever 
could have entertained the most distant hope of success, 
or what right he had to presume to claim it, is to me one 
of the strangest things in the world. An adept in the 
art of war is alone authorized to deviate from the ordi- 
nary and established rules, by which that art for a great 
length of time has been usefully and successfully ap- 
plied. 

" Winchester was destitute of every. means of support- 
ing his corps long at the river Raisin, was in the very 
jaws of the enemy, and beyond the reach of succor. 
He who fights with such flimsy pretensions to victory, 
will always be beaten, and eternally ought to be." 

On the 13th of February, the field and platoon ofllicers 
of all the Kentucky regiments, from which the detach- 
ment sent to the river Raisin, was formed, held a meet- 
ing and made the following address to general Harrison. 
It is dated at the Miami Rapids, and signed by R. M. 
Gano, M. D. Hardin, Patrick Gray, Thomas Morris, 
George Pugh, Joseph Redding, Thomas Story, James 
W. Gillaspie, James King, Joel Garnett, Peter Dudley, 
Thomas Brooks, R. C. Holder, Thomas Gest, vS. W. 
McGowan, William Caldwell, Daniel Bowen, and Alex- 
ander Welch. They were near the' scene of action, had 
every means of knowing the facts in the case, and were 
mourning over their friends, killed or massacred at the 
Raisin, when this address was made to the commander- 
in-chief: 

"Although various causes have reduced the recriments 
to which we respectively belong to a very small number, 
we had flattered ourselves, when we marched from our 
late encampment, on Portage river, to this place, that 

F 



62 SKETCHES OF 

you would have been enabled immediately to have led 
.us on, and to have given us an opportunity, under your 
immediate eye, to have avenged the injury sustained by 
our friends and our country, on the river Raisin, in the 
last month; to have regained the ground lost, and to 
have seen and aided you in repairing the loss sustained. 
Had circumstances justified you in proceeding, we could 
not have doubted the result under your auspices, and we 
should have remained with you, regardless of the time 
we had served, or the fatigues we had undergone, and 
uninfluenced by any pecuniary considerations. But, as 
events not within your control, seem to forbid immediate 
active operations, the time we have remained in the wil- 
derness, as the advance of the north-western army, re- 
quires our return to civilized life and to our homes. 
When permitted to return, we shall, after a service of 
six months under you, carry back to our friends and our 
country, a confirmation of those high opinions of your 
military worth, which were formed upon a first acquaint- 
ance. 

"Should circumstances again call us to the field, we 
should be highly gratified at being placed under your im- 
mediate command. In the meantime, permit us to as- 
sure you, that we entertain for you, individually, the 
highest sentiments of personal respect and esteem." 

In the month of February, the two brigades of Ohio 
militia, under Tupper and Perkins, were discharged. 
The general and field officers, on the 20th, at camp Mi-^ 
ami Rapids, made an address to general Harrison. We 
quote the concluding paragraph : 

" Great was the undertaking, and numerous the obsta- 
cles which opposed your progress ; a wilderness of near- 
ly one hundred and fifty miles was to be traversed, which, 
with its swamps and morasses, presented difficulties far 
greater than tire Alps. Great as were these obstacles, 
lelyinor on the willingness of your troops to endure any 
hardships, to reach the enemy, you rightly judged that 
they might be surmounted. A few weeks past, every 
circumstance united to promise you an immediate acconi-. 
plishment of your design.^. Large supplies of provi- 
sions, and numerous munitions of war were so far ad-^ 



GENERAL JIARUISON. 63 

vanced as to be within your control ; your trooj)S, with 
an unbounded reliance on your jiuifTnient and skill, were 
eager to be led up to the enemy, and waited but }oiir or- 
der to march ; your exertions had been great, and every 
thing prontiised the suffering soldier a speedy reward for 
his toils. At this important moment the unfortunate 
movement of general Winchester to the river Kaisin, 
with its unhappy consequences, (a movement we believe 
without your orders or concurrence) broke the successful 
chain of operations, and presented nev/ and unlooked-for 
difficulties before yon. 

" On retiring from service, sir, we are happy in assu- 
ring you of our fullest confidence, and that of our res- 
pective commands, in the measures you have taken ; they 
have been cautious, skillful, and guarded, such as would 
at this time have carried our arms to the walls of Mai- 
den, had not the unhappy occurrences at the river Raisin 
checked your progress, and for a short time thwarted 
your plans of operation. That you may soon teach the 
enemy the distinction between an honorable and savage 
warfare, by planting our standard in the heart of their 
country, and retrain the honor and territory we have lost, 
and, as a just tribute to valor, toils and suffering, receive 
the grateful thanks of a generous and free people, is 
among the first, the warmest wishes of our hearts." 

This address is signed by Edward W. Tupper, Simon 
Perkins, Charles Miller, John Andrews, William Rayen, 
Robert Safford, N. Beasley, James Galloway, Solomon 
Bentley, George Darrow, W. W. Cotgreave, and Jacob 
Frederick. 

The conclusions to which every candid mind must 
come, after a careful perusal of the preceding narrative, 
and the high testimony by which it is accompanied, are 
the following: 1. That general Winchester's movement 
to the river Raisin was in violation of the orders of gen- 
eral Harrison and the plan of the campaign. 2. That 
when informed of the movement, general Harrison did 
all in his power to reinforce the detachment under Win- 
chester. 3. That after the movement had been made, 
and the battle of the 18th had oi^-curred, it was inexpe- 
dient to abandon the place. 4. That if general Wiiichesi 



64 SKETCHES OF 

ter had taken the necessary steps to fortify his camp, and 
arrang-e his troops, the defeat of the 22nd of January 
would not, in all human probability, have taken place. 

It is due to the reputation of general Winchester, to 
add, that in this unfortunate and unauthorized movement 
to the river Raisin, he w^as sustained, generally, by the 
officers and men of his corps. They were a gallant 
band, panting for an opportunity, before their return to 
Kentucky, to meet their country's enemy : this feeling, 
with the still nobler one of protecting the women and 
children of Frenchtown, from the tomahawk and scalp- 
ing knife, contributed to overcome the moral firmness of 
general Winchester, and led him to a disobedience of or- 
ders : the same extenuation, however, caimot be pleaded 
for his conduct, in neglecting the most ordinary precau- 
tions for the safety of his camp, when within striking 
distance of a powerful and ferocious enemy, of whose 
meditated attack he had certain intelligence. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Movements of the North-western army, after the defeat at the riv- 
er Raisin. — Establishment of Camp Meigs.. — Kentucky and 
Ohio Militia discharged. — Termination of the first campaign. 
—Preparations for the next. — Colonel Morrison's opinion. — 
Siege of Fort Meigs. — Arrival of Kentucky troops under 
General Clay. — Dudley's defeat. — Brilliant sorties, 5th May. 
— Proctor's demand of a surrender. — His ak.ndonment of 
the siege. — Gallant conduct of General Harrison. 

On the night of the 22nd of .January, a council was 
called at the Rapids, by general Harrison, to determine 
whether it was probable the enemy would attack the 
camp at that place, and whether the force then in camp, 
consisting of nine hundred men, and a single piece of 
artillery, would be able to make an effectual resistance ? 
The force of the enemy in the battle, was stated to be 



GENERAL HARRISON. G5 

from two to three thousand, with six pieces of artillery, 
principally howitzers. It was decided unanimously, to 
retire a short distance on the road, upon which the artil- 
lery and reinforcements were approaching. This move- 
ment was deemed to be prudent, from the fact that Win- 
chester, with a larger force, had been defeated by the 
same enemy ; and it was to be presumed that they would 
advance against the position at the Rapids, or do what was 
more to be deprecated, send th-e Indians to intercept those 
entrusted in the rear, with the artillery and provisions. 
The position which had been occupied, and partially for- 
tified, at the Rapids, by general Winchester, was not ca- 
pable of defence, and was situated on the wrong side of 
the river. Any rise in the river, or the breaking up of 
the ice, would have cut off general Harrison from his 
supplies of men and provisions ; and although in such 
an event, his own reinforcements could not reach him, 
the Indians, at points above and below, could cross the 
river, and assail his rear. The council having determin- 
ed upon the propriety of a retrograde movement, every 
military principle demanded that the provisions which 
could not be removed, should be destroyed, so as to pre- 
vent their falling into the hands of the enemy. 

General Harrison, having retired to Portage river, 
strongly fortified his camp, to wait for the artillery and a 
detachmentof troops under general Leftwich. An unfor«» 
tunate rain had arrested their progress twenty-five miles 
beyond this point, and general Leftwich did not arrive un- 
til the 30th of January, with his brigade, a regiment of 
Pennsylvania troops, and the greater part of the artillery. 
At this period, the benevolence of general Harrison's char- 
acter was manifested in his sending Dr. McKeehan, of 
the Ohio militia, with a flag to IMalden, to ascertain the 
condition of the wounded, and to carry them a sum of 
money in gold, to procure accommodations; but the flag 
was not respected, and he was robbed of his money. 

On the first of February, general Harrison advanced 
with his whole force, amounting to seventeen hundred 
men, and encamped at the foot of the Rapids, on the 
south-east side, at the place which was called Camp 
Meigs. He still cherished the hope that the season 

f2 



1 



66 SKETCHES OF 

might so far favor his efforts as to enable him to ex- 
ecute the long coniemplateH expedition against Maiden; 
and for this purpose ordered up all the troops in the rear, 
except some companies left to maintain the forts on the 
Auglaize and the St. Mary's. By the 15th of February, 
he intended to advance, disperse the Indians, destroy the 
shipping, and establish a post near Brownstown, until the 
season would permit the advance of the artillery. This 
■was ordinarily the period when the most intense frosts 
rendered the lakes and swamps perfectly firm ; but the 
weather continued so rainy, that the roads were broken 
up and traveling rendered unsafe. The period for which 
the Kentucky and Ohio troops had engaged to serve, was 
about to expire, and the roads and swamps were render- 
ed almost impassable, even with a single horse. The 
balance of the troops, nor the necessary supplies, had not 
arrived at the Rapids. The general was, therefore, com- 
pelled reluctantly to abandon, for this season, any further 
advance towards Maiden; thus terminating a campaign 
attended with great expense to the government, and se- 
vere hardships to the general and his men. But great as 
were the difficulties of prosecuting a winter campaign, 
in that swampy region, the industry of the general and 
the firmness of the men, would have surmounted thera, 
but for the unfortunate movement to the river Raisin, and 
its disastrous results. The delay occasioned to the de- 
parture of the artillery and troops from the right wing, 
by general Winchester forwarding notice to head quar- 
ters, of his arrival at the Rapids, by the driver of the 
pack horses, led to the unfortunate defeat of Raisin ; and 
with it, the defeat of the campaign. The critical period 
when the swamps were frozen over, was not seized for 
sending up the artillery and troops, and this was not 
done, because general Harrison did not receive intelli- 
gence in due time, of the approach of Winchester. 

In takinsf leave of the events connected with the 
first campaign, and before entering upon the incidents 
of the second, we may be permitted to add a few re- 
flections. Looking at the result, it is to be regretted, 
that a winter campaign was attempted. It was com- 
menced at the precise season of the year, when the pru- 



GENERAL HARRISON. 67 

dent caution of Washinjsrton and Wayne arrested the 
progress of the army, in 1793 ; hut the orders and views 
of the war department were such, as to leave no doubt 
of the solicitude of the (rovernmetit to recover Detroit, 
and capture xMalden, in the course of thp winter. Under 
these impressions, general Harrison made the most ener- 
getic efforts to be prepared with men, and suppTips, and 
artillery, to avail himself of the critical period when 
the frosts should pave the roads and ihe hike. Th;it this 
propitious moment would have arrived early in February, 
but for the disaster at Raisin, we have the testimony of 
colonel Morrison, a revolutionary offic-er, and quarier-mas- 
tergeneral, who, in reply to enquiries on the subject, by 
general Harrison, says :* "The plans and arrangements 
indispensable to an advance on the enemy, were so far 
consummated, at the period of general Winchester's de- 
feat, as to authorize a general movement. I have a per- 
fect recollection of your calling on me as quarter-master, 
a short lime previous to that disaster, to know whether I 
possessed the means, and would promise to supply the 
army wiih provisions, on their march upon the enemy. 
On receiving an affirmative answer, you hastened lo the 
head of the centre line, and marched for the Rapids, where 
I understood you expected to meet general \\ inchester, 
and where a deposit of provisions, &c., was commenced 
when the defeat took place." By the plan of the cam- 
paign, and the desultory expeditions projected ao-ainst 
the Indian villages, the settlements were protected, and 
the enemy kept in the dark as to ulterior operations. 
General Harrison covered the frontiers more eifectually, 
and advanced more rapidly to the grand result, than did 
general Wayne, whose convoys were assailed, and who 
consumed nearly two years in the necessary preparations 
for the main campaiun. On this subject colonel Morri- 
son IS equally explicit rf "The positions selected for 
protectinor the frontier settlements, were universally ad- 
mitted to be judicious; and as a proof that they were so, 
It IS remarkable, that during the autumn and winter of 
1812-'13, in a frontier of great extent, there was scarcely 



•Dawson, 451. fib. 



^ 



/ 



68 SKETCHES OF 

an instance of the inhabitants being molested by the 
enemy. The general arrangements lor concentrating the 
troops at the Rapids of the Miami, as soon as stores and 
provisions could be procured to justify an advance, were 
such, in my opinion, as evinced a correct knowledge of 
the country and character of the enemy, and great mili- 
tary talents on the part of general Harrison." 

After the termination of the campaign, the efforts of 
general Harrison were directed to the fortifying of the 
position at the foot of the Rapids — to the arrangement of 
the remaining troops, and the accumulation of provisions 
at Camp Meigs, for the next cam])aign. It was neces- 
sary, however, to wait until the rise of the Auglaize-and 
St. Mary's, for water conveyance, but some progress was 
made from Sandusky on the ice of the lake. Troops 
were posted on the Auglaize and St. Mary's — on Hull's 
road, at Upper and Lower Sandusky ; but the principal 
force was concentrated at Camp Meiofs, the fortification 
of which was entrusted to captain Wood, of the engi- 
neers. This was the best position for the protection of 
the frontiers, and its maintenance was indispensable as 
a depot for the artillery, military stores, and provisions, 
which could not now be removed. In the latter part 
of February, general Harrison prepared an expedition, 
under captain Langham, for the purpose of proceeding 
upon the ice of the lake, to destroy the enemy's ves- 
sels at Maiden. The detachment reached Bass island, 
where, unfortunately, it was ascertained that the lake 
next to the Canada shore, was entirely open ; the detach- 
ment consequently returned. 

"In the month of February, a change had been made 
in the war department, general John Armstrong having 
been appointed to the important office of secretary of 
that department. This secretary having received the 
letter of general Harrison of the 11th of February, an- 
nouncing the suspension of offensive operations, in his 
reply of the 5th of March, declares his conviction of the 
necessity of that course, and proceeds in that and subse- 
quent letters to mark out the course which was intended 
to be pursued for the following campaign. The opinions 
heretofore given by general Harrison in relation to the 



\ 



GENERAL HARRISON. 69 

mode of conducting the war against Upper Canada, were 
adopted. Captain Perry, of the navy, was already at 
Presque Isle, preparing the timher for the construction 
of those vessels with which he afterwards obtained such 
imperishable renown. In the letter of the secretary 
above referred to, general Harrison was informed that 
the lleet would be ready for service by the middle of 
May. The land forces, which were to form his com- 
mand, were also designated ; they were to consist of the 
17th and 19th regiments, of which at that time but a 
small part had been raised ; the 24th regiment, wliich 
was then on its march from Tennessee to join the north- 
western army, and three regiments of twelve month's 
men to he raised in Kentucky and Ohio. The post of 
Cleveland was fixed on as the proper place for building 
the boats which were intended to convey the troops to 
the opposite shore of Canada. It was the opinion of 
the secretary that the recruits which would be engag- 
ed for the new regiments could serve to protect the posts 
until offensive operations should commence. The em- 
ployment of militia was not to be resorted to but after it 
was ascertained that the regular troops could not be pro- 
cured. It will be observed, that the plan of the ensu- 
ing campaign was precisely the one which had been re- 
commended by general Harrison in the letters heretofore 
quoted in this work. But the arransrements for the in- 
termediate time were not at all suited to his wishes. Re- 
ferring to the list of forces to he raised, the History of 
the War says : With these nominal forces was the gen- 
eral required to maintain the north-western posts, with 
the provisions and military stores now accumulated in 
them ; and to protect the frontiers against the Indians, 
and make demonstrations against Maiden. Fortunately, 
general Harrison, before he received these instructions, 
had called for reinforcements of militia from both Ken- 
tucky and Ohio; but the whole number expected, would 
not be sufficient to garrison the different posts completely. 
" In answer to these instructions, the general remon- 
strated against abandoning the use of the militia, and 
leaving the frontiers in such a defenceless situation. He 
represented the numerous Indian tribes, residing conticr- 



70 SKETCHES OF 

uous to our out posts, who were either hostile, or would 
soon become so, when not overawed by an American 
army. As sonn as the lake became navigable, the ene- 
my from Maiden could also make a descent with the ut- 
most facility on Fort Meigs, the important deposit of 
the artillery and military stores, from which they could 
not be removed through the swamps, and to which it 
was necessary to carry on the high waters in the spring, 
the immense supplies deposited on the Auglaize and St. 
Mary's. The works at the Rapids had been constructed 
for a force of two thousand men ; for the general had 
thought it necessary to maintain a force at that place, 
whicli would be able to contend in the field with all the 
disposable force of the enemy, in order to prevent him 
from gettiiia it)to its rear, and destroying the weaker posts 
which more immediately protected the frontiers. The 
government was assured, that the regular force on which 
they relied, could not be raised in time, even for the inten- 
ded expedition; and that as large supplies were not 
prepared at points where they could be transported by 
water, the surest plan would be to march a large militia 
force, which not beinjr delayed and dispirited for the want 
of supplies, would behave well, and effectually accom- 
plish the objects of the campaign. The probability that 
the force on which the government relied, would be too 
small to effect its object, was represented as a great ob- 
stacle in the way of the recruiting service, which at best 
was found to be very tedious. 

" In the f 'llowino- extract from a letter of general Har- 
rison to governor Shelby, the general expressed himself 
more explicitly on this subject. 'My sentiments upon 
the subject of the force neeessary f ^r the prosf cution of 
the war, are precisely similar to yours. It will increase 
your surprise find regret, when I inform you that last 
night's mail hmnght rue a letter from the secretary of 
war, in which I am restricted to the employment of the 
regular troops raised in this state to reinforce the post at 
the Rapids. There are scattered through this state, about 
one hundred and forty recruits of the 19th regiment, and 
with these I am to supply-the place of the two brigades 
from Pennsylvania and Virginia, whose term of service 



GENERAL HARRISON. 71 

will now be daily expiring-. By a letter from governor 
Meigs, I am informed, that the secretary of war disap- 
proved the call for militia, which 1 had iriade on this state 
and Kentucky, and was on the point of countermanding 
the orders. I will just mention one fact, which will 
show the consequences of such a countermand. There 
are upon the Auglaize and St. Mary's rivers eight forts, 
which contain within their walls property to tiie amount 
of half a million of dollars from actual cost, and worth 
now to the United Slates four times that sum. The 
whole force which would have charge of all these forts 
and property, would have amounted to less than twenty 
invalid soldiers.' "* 

Colonels INIcArthur and Cass were appointed briga- 
dier generals to command the troops destined to form the 
north-western army, and governor Howard was appoint- 
ed a brig-adier to be assio-ned to the command of the In- 
diana, Illinois, and Missouri territories. The expedition 
under captain Lanuham havingr satisfied general Harri- 
eon that the enemy would not attack Fort Meigs until 
the opening of the lake, in the spring, he placed general 
Leftwich, of the Virginia brigade, in command of Fort 
Meig:5, and proceeded to the inierior to promote the re- 
cruiiing service, to visit his family, then suffering under 
severe disease, and to hasten the movements of the mili- 
tia from Kentucky, detached to supply the place of the 
Virginia and Pennsylvania troops, whose period of ser- 
vice was about to expire. As he had anticipated, he re- 
ceived intelligence on the 30th of March, that the lake 
would soon be open — at the same time he learned that 
the militia would leave at the expiration of their service, 
and that the enemy had captured two of our men near the 
fort. He sent expresses to urge on the militia from Ken- 
tucky. Major Johnson, with three companies of the Ken- 
tucky militia, having arrived, they were mounted on pack- 
horses, and proceeded with all possible expedition. The 
squadron of colonel Ball was, also, ordered to repair to 
Fort Meigs, where the men could act as infantry. The 
general hastened to Fort Amanda, on the Auglaize, and 

* Dawson and M'Affee. 



72 SKETCHES OF 

being joined at that place by colonel Miller with the 
regulars from Chillicothe, embarked with them and one 
hundred and fifty Ohio militia, under colonel Mills. In 
the event of the fort being besieged, it was his intention 
to attack the British batteries in the same way in which 
he afterwards directed it to be done by colonel Dudley.. 
The general was received in the fort with great joy on 
the 12th of April, and found that the Virginia general and 
troops had gone, but that two hundred and thirty of the 
Pennsylvania line had volunteered to remain until the ar- 
rival of the expected reinforcements. As soon as major 
Ball and major Johnson arrived, the Pennsylvania troops 
were honorably discharged. After the departure of gen- 
erals Leftwich and Crooks, the command had devolved 
on major Stoddard, of the United States artillery, whose 
force consisted of the remaining Pennsylvanians, a bat- 
talion of twelve month's volunteers under major Alexan- 
der, a company of artillerists, and small fragments of the 
17th and 19th regiments of infantry, amounting in all to 
five hundred men. 

Early in April intelligence had been received at the 
fort, of the designs of the enemy. General Proctor was 
embodying the Canadian militia, and Tecumthe had join- 
ed him with six hundred warriors from the Wabash. As 
soon as the enemy was discovered approaching in force, 
on the 28th of April, general Harrison dispatched captain 
William Oliver, the field commissary of the army, to 
communicate with general Clay, commanding the Ken- 
tucky reinforcements, who were presumed to be ap- 
proaching by^ the Auglaize. This duty required the agent 
to possess an intimate knowledge of the country, and 
an intrepidity and firmness peculiar to Indian warfare. 
I'hese qualities were conspicuous in captain Oliver, and 
the selection was creditable to the discernment of gene- 
ral Harrison. 

Captain Oliver was accompanied by one Indian and 
one white man, and performed the duty assigned to him 
with signal success. He found general Clay at Fort 
Winchester, to whom he communicated the fact of the 
investment of Fort Meigs, and the urgent importance of 
forwarding the reinforcement with all practical dispatch. 



1' 

■'■'■ n 



GENERAL HARRISON. 73 

As soon as captain Oliver had left the fort, it was in- 
vested by the enemy. On the next morning, the general 
issued a general order, from which the following is an 
extract : 

" Can the citizens of a free country, who have taken 
arms to defend its rights, think of submitting to an army 
composed of mercenary soldiers, reluctant Canadians 
goaded to the field by the bayonet, and of wretched, na- 
ked savages'? Can the breast of an American soldier, 
when he casts his eyes to the opposite shore, the scene 
of his country's triumphs over the same foe, be influ- 
enced by any other feelings than the hope of glory ? Is 
not this army composed of the same materials with that 
which fought and conquered under the immortal Wayne ? 
Yes, fellow-soldiers, your general sees your countenan- 
ces beam with the same fire, that he witnessed on that 
glorious occasion ; and although it would be the height 
of presumption to compare himself to that hero, he boasts 
of being that hero's pupi/. To your posts then, fellow- 
citizens, and remember that the eyes of your country are 
upon you."* 

The enemy erected their batteries on the north-west 
side of the river, and encamped with their main body at 
Old Fort Miami, two miles below. The Indians were 
thrown across the river and invested the fort on that side. 
The erection of the necessary defences in Fort Meigs, 
was confided to captain Wood, of the engineers : captain 
Gratiot of that corps being too unwell for constant duty. 
Whilst the British were preparing their batteries, the In- 
dians annoyed the garrison by climbing the trees, several 
hundred yards distant from the fort, and were enabled to 
do some mischief. Speaking on this subject, captain, 
afterwards colonel. Wood, humorously observes : " their 
ethereal annoyance, however, proved a great stimulus to 
the militia; for although they did their duty with alac- 
rity and promptitude, yet their motions were much accel- 
erated by it — and let who will make the experiment, it 
will be invariably found, that the movements of militia 
will be quickened by a brisk fire of musketry about their 

* M'Affee, 259. 
4 G 



74 SKETCHES OF 

ears."* Colonel Wood adds : " on the morning of the 
1st of May, it was discovered that the British batteries 
were completed ; and about ten o'clock they appeared to 
be loading, and adjusting their guns on certain objects in 
the camp. By this time our troops had completed a 
grand traverse, about twelve feet bigh, upon a base of 
twenty feet, three hundred yards long, on the most ele- 
vated ground through the middle of the camp, calculated 
to ward off the shot of the enemy's batteries. Orders 
were given for all the tents in front to be instantly re- 
moved into its rear, which was effected in a few minutes, 
and that beautiful prospect of cannonading and bom- 
barding our lines, wliich but a moment before had exci- 
ted the skill and energy of the British engineer, was now 
entirely fled, and in its place nothing was to be seen but 
an immense shield of earth, which entirely obscured the 
whole army. Not a tent nor a single person was to be 
seen. Those canvass houses, which had concealed the 
growth of the traverse from the, view of the enemy, were 
now protected and hid in their turn. The prospect of 
smollng us out, was now at best but very faint. But as 
neither general Proctor nor his oflnceis were yet convin- 
ced of the folly and futility of their laborious prepara- 
tions, their batteries were opened, and five days were 
spent in arduous cannonading and bombarding to bring 
them to this salutary conviction. A tremendous cannon- 
ade was kept up all the rest of the day, and shells were 
thrt)wn till eleven o'clock at night. Very little damage, 
however, was done in the camp ; one or two were killed 
and three or four wounded — among the latter was major 
Amos Stoddard of the 1st regiment of artillery — a revo- 
lutionary character, and an officer of much merit. He 
was wounded slightly with a piece of shell, and about 
ten days afterwards died with the lock-jaw. 

" The fire of the enemy was returned from the fort with 
our eighteen pounders with some effect, though but spa- 
yingly — for the slock of eighteen pound shot was but 
email, there being but three hundred and sixty of that 
size in the fort when the siege commenced, and about 

♦ M'Affee, 261. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 75 

the same number for the twelve pounders. A proper 
supply of this article had not been sent with the artillery 
from Pittsburgh. The battery of the enemy supplied us 
with twelve pound shot; but they had no eighieens, all 
their large guns being twenty-fours. On the second day 
Ihey opened their fire a^ain with great fury, and contin- 
ued it all day, but without any better effect. With a 
plenty of ammunition, we should have been able to have 
blown John Bull almost from the Miami. It was ex- 
tremely diverting to see with what pleasure and delight 
the Indians would yell, whenever in their opinion con- 
siderable damage was done in the camp by the burst- 
ing of a shell. Their hanging about the camp, and oc- 
casionally coming pretty near, kept our lines almost 
constantly in a blaze of fire ; for nothing can please a 
Kentuckian better than to get a shot at an Indian — and 
he must be indulg-ed."* 

The enemy had transferred some of his guns to the 
south side of the river, and opened batteries upon the 
right flank of the camp. Every journal which was kept 
Df the events in that memorable siege, speaks of tho en- 
ergy, skill, and coolness which marked the conduct of 
the commanding general. The first cannon ball fired by 
the enemy, struck the general's tent. Captain McCul- 
lough, of the Ohio troops, was killed whilst conversing 
ivith him, and upon another occasion, he was struck on 
:he hip by a spent ball, which is always known to pro- 
luce the greatest pain. Measures were taken to prevent 
i surprise, and specific instructions given to the com- 
.Tianding officers to meet that contingency. General Har- 
rison awaited with the most anxious solicitude to receive 
intelligence of the approach of general Clay, with a re- 
inforcement of twelve hundred men. Late on the night 
of the 4th, captain Oliver and major D. Trimble, with a 
few men, arrived in a skiff", having left general Clay above 
the Rapids, who had instructed them to inform the gen- 
eral that he would arrive by 4 o'clock in the morning. 
The arrival of this stronof reinforcement was embraced 
by general Harrison, as the occasion for carrying into ef- 

* M'Afice, 263. 



76 SKETCHES OF 

feet the sorties previously planned, and which have rel> 
dered the defence of Fort Meigs so memorable in the 
history of the war. 

Captain Hamilton, of the Ohio militia, was immedi- 
ately dispatched to general Clay, to direct him to detaca 
eight hundred men on the left bank of the river, about i 
mfle above the fort. This detachment, with Hamilton 
as its guide, was then to be marched "to the British bat* 
teries, carry them, spike the cannon, cut down the car- 
riages, and then return to their boats and cross over to 
the fort." The residue of the brigade was to be landel 
on the right bank of the river, and conducted by the sub- 
altern, who went with Hamilton to the fort. It was the 
design of the general to cause sorties to be made against 
the enemy on the south-east side of the river, simultane- 
ously with that by the detachment from general Clay, 
under colonel Dudley, on" the opposite shore. For this 
purpose, a detachment was prepared and placed under 
the direction of colonel Miller, of the 19th United States 
infantry, to consist of two hundred and fifty of the 17tl 
ancl 19lh regiments, one hundred twelve month's volurh 
teers, and captain Sebree's company of Kentucky militia 
These troops were drawn up in a ravine, under the eas; 
curtain of the fort, out of reach of the enemy's fire, t» 
await further orders. In the meantime, general Clat 
had been detained by the difficulty of passing the Rapidi 
in the night. Captain Hamilton reached him at eighJ 
o'clock, and colonel Dudley was detached with eight 
hundred men to attack the batteries on the north side ol 
the river. General Clay, with Boswell's regiment, suo 
ceeded, after some skirmishing with the Indians, in ef 
fecting his entrance into the fort. Tlipse troops, witt 
Nearing's company of regulars, and the battalion of voh 
unteers"under major Alexander, were employed immedi- 
ately in driving off a large body of Indians, who had ap- 
proached within one hundred and fifty yards of the fort, 
This duty was executed with gallantry, under the imme- 
diate eye and direction of the commanding general, who, 
from his position, discovered a body of British troops 
passing from the batteries to the east of the fort, to the 
aid of their allies, thus exposing the rear of the detach- 



GENERAL HARRISON. 77 

ment. An order for immediate retreat was sent by his 
aid, John J. Johnson, but his horse being killed under 
him before its delivery, the intelligence was conveyed 
by another aid, major Graham. 

Just as this affair terminated, the troops in the fort 
were cheered by the shouts of the Kentuckians in charg- 
ing the batteries on the opposite shore. At this point 
every plan v^as successfully carried into effect, and no- 
thing prevented the detachments from returning under the 
bank to their boats and crossincr over to the fort, but that 
the men unfortunately suffered themselves to be drawn 
into the woods by the fire of scattering Indians, until a 
reinforcement of British troops from the old fort, gained 
their rear, and killed or captured nearly all of them. 
About fifty were slain, five hundred and fifty captured, 
and one hundred and fifty escaped to their boats, and 
crossed in satety to the fort. After the fall of colonel 
Dudley, the command devolved on major Shelby. As 
soon as it was seen theit the attack by Dudley had indu- 
ced the enemy to send reinforcements from ilio east side, 
the general directed the detachment under colonel Mil- 
ler, to advance from the ravine. The British batteries 
at this point were protected by a company of British 
grenadiers ; another of light infantry, two hundred strong; 
these were flanked by two hundred Canadian militia, and 
by one thousand Indians under Tecumthe. The detach- 
ment advanced with loaded but trailed arms, and in a 
few moments the batteries, two officers and fifty regular 
troops were taken ; and when we regard the disparity of 
force, the advantageous position of the enemy, and the 
dreadful execution in so few minutes, it is but justice to 
this gallant corps, to speak of it as having acquired equal 
honor with that of any other detachment during the war. 
In the progress of the severe battle fought by this de- 
tachment, captain Sebree's company sustained them- 
selves against four times their number, until relieved by 
the gallantry of a company of regulars, under lieutenant 
Gwynne.* The return of this detachment to the fort, 
terminated the battles of the day, and immediately gene- 



* Major David Gwynne. 
g3 



78 SKETCHES OF 

ral Proctor sent major Chambers with a flag of truce, 
and upon his introduction to general Harrison, the fol- 
lowintj conversation took place.: 

" Major Chambers. — General Proctor has directed me 
to demand the surrender of this post. He wishes to 
spare the effusion of blood. 

" General Harrisoii. — The demand, under present cir- 
cumstances, is a most extraordinary one. As general 
Proctor did not send me a summons to surrender on his 
first arrival, I had supposed that he believed me deter- 
mined to do my duty. His present message indicates 
an opinion of me that I am at a loss to account for. 

" Major Chavibtrs. — General Proctor could never think 
of saying any thing to wound your feelings, sir. The 
character of general Harrison, as an officer, is well known. 
General Proctor's force is very respectable, and there is 
with him a larger body of Indians than has ever before 
been embodied. 

" General Harrison. — I believe I have a very correct 
idea of general Proctor's force : it is not such as to cre- 
ate the least apprehension for the result of the contest, 
whatever shape he may be pleased hereafter to give to 
it. Assure the general, however, that he will never have 
this post surrendered to him upon any terms. Should it 
fall into his hands, it will be in a manner calculated to 
do him riiore honor, and to give him larger claims upon 
the gratitude of his government, than any capitulation 
could possibly do." 

The total amount of our killed and wounded on the 
south-east side was two hundred and seventy, of whom 
eighty-one were killed — sixty-four of these being slain in 
the sorties, and one hundred and twenty-four wounded ; 
the remainder, eighty-one, killed and wounded within 
the fortified camp. 

"In the general order which was published on the 9th, 
the commander mentions with the highest approbation the 
conduct of the troops in general, and gives them his 
thanks, as he does the following officers by name, viz: 
Wood and Gratiot, of the engineers; captains Gushing 
and Hall, of the artillery ; colonel Miller and major Todd, 
of the I9th infantry; major Ball, of the United States 



GENERAL HARRISON. 79 

dragoons;* colonel Mills, and majors Lodwick and Rit- 
•zer, of the Ohio militia; major Johnson of the Kentucky 
militia; captains Croghan, Bradford, Langham, Elliott, 
and Nearing; lieutenants Campbell, Gwynne, Kercheval, 
Lee, and Rees; ensigns Ship, Hawkins, Harrison, Mit- 
chel, and Stockton, of the United States infantry; to 
brigadier general Clay, colonel Boswell, and major 
Fletcher, and the captains Dudley, Simmons, and Met- 
ealf, of Clay's brigade. Adjutant Brown, Mr. Peters, 
conductor of artillery, and to Serjeants Timberlake, Hen- 
derson, James, and Meld rum, and Mr. Lion, principal 
artificer; to the Petersburgh and Pittsburgh volunteers, 
captain Sebree and his company of Kentucky militia; 
also to major Hukill, actingr inspector general ; lieutenant 
O'Fallon, acting deputy adjutant general, and to his aids- 
de-camp, major Graham and John J. Johnson, Esq. 

" Upon the subject of colonel Dudley's misfortune, the 
author of the History of the War in the West, thus ex- 
presses himself: " the defeat of colonel Dudley very na- 
turally became the subject of much speculation in Ken- 
tucky; and a considerable diversity of opinion existed, 
respecting the causes of the disaster and the actors con- 
cerned in it. The subject, however, appears very plain. 
Those who were in the defeat, commonly attributed it, 
very justly, to their own imprudence and zeal, which 
were not properly controlled, and directed by the orders 
and example of their leader. There was nothing diffi- 
cult or hazardous in the enterprise — the whole misfor- 
tune resulted from the imprudent manner of its execu- 
tion. The batteries were easily taken, and the retreat 
was perfectly secure ; but the detachment wanted a head 
to direct and restrain its Kentucky impetuosity to its 
proper object." 

The following judicious observations are made in 

* By inadvertence, a very gallant portion of Ball's squadron 
was not noticed in this general order. It should have included 
captain Ganard, lieutenants Badey, Hickman, and AtcClana- 
han, and cornet Thornton, commanding a troop of twelve 
month's volunteers, from Bourbon county, Kentucky. This 
corps merited and received, on other occasions, the thanks of the 
commanding general. 



80 SKETCHES OF 

M'Affee's History : " it was fortunate for the American 
cause, that the enterprise of general Proctor against Fort 
Meigs was delayed so long. Had he been ready to sail 
as soon as the lake became navigable, and so timed his 
movements as to arrive at the fort during the first week 
in April, immediately after the last militia of the winter 
campaign were discharged, and before general Harrison 
arrived with reinforcements, he must have succeeded 
against that post. The garrison was then left very 
weak, being considerably less than five hundred effec- 
tives. The works, too, were then very incomplete, and 
entirely too large for that number, as the fortified camp 
included seven or eight acres of ground. The place was 
still with propriety denominated camp Meigs, more fre- 
quently than it was styled a fort. Its capture would 
have been a most serious loss, as it contained nearly all 
the artillery and military stores of the north-western 
array, beside a large amount of provisions. General 
Harrison repeatedly in the winter, pressed on the atten- 
tion of the government, the necessity of preparing a force 
to take the place of the militia then in service; but in- 
stead of doing this, we have seen that the new secretary, 
at the critical moment when the last of those troops were 
disbanded, restricted general Harrison to the use of reg- 
ulars, wliich were still to be levied in a country, where 
it is almost impossible to raise a regiment of regulars 
through the whole year. Without the aid of the Ohio 
and Kentucky militia, which the general called into ser- 
vice without the authority, and contrary to the views of 
the war department, it is highly probable that the impor- 
tant post at the Rapids would have been lost." 

In the message of the president of the United States, 
to congress, at their subsequent session, he says, "the 
issue of the late siege at Fort Meigs, leaves us nothing 
to regret but a single act of inconsiderate valor." 



GENERAL HARRISON. 81 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Council with friendly Tnilians. — Reported investment of Fort 
Meigs. — Second siege of Fort Meigs. — Attack on Fort Ste- 
phenson. — Croghan's letter, — Statement of the general, staff, 
and field officers, about the attack on Fort Stephenson. — 
Ohio Militia at Grand Camp. — Preparations for crossing 
the lake. — Perry's victory. — Army reaches Maiden. — Proctor 
pursued. — Council at Sandwich. — Shelby, Cass, and Perry's 
letters. 

While at Franklinton, in June, general Harrison held 
a council with the chiefs of the friendly Indians, of the 
Delaware, Shawanpse, Wyandot, and Seneca tribes, in 
which he stated to them that the time had arrived for all 
those who were willing to enorage in the war, "to take a 
decided stand for or against the United States," — that 
the 'president wished no false friends — that the proposal 
of Proctor to exchange the Kentucky militia for the 
tribes in our friendship, indicated that he had received 
some hint of their willingness to take up the tomahawk 
against us ; and that to give the United States a proof 
of their good disposition, they must remove with their 
families into the interior, or the warriors must ac- 
company him in the ensuing campaign, and fight for 
the United States. To the latter condition the chiefs 
and warriors unanimou«;ly agreed; and said they had 
long been anxious for an invitation to fight for the Amer- 
icans. Tarhe, the oldest Indian in the western country, 
who represented all the tribes, professed in their name 
the most indissoluble friendship for the United States. 
General Harrison then told them he would let them know 
when they would be wanted in the service; "but you 
must conform to our mode of warfare. You are not to kill 
defenceless prisoners, old men, women or children." He 
added, that by their conduct he would be ahle to tell, 
whether the British could restrain the Indians from such 
horrible cruelty. For if the Indians fighting with him, 
would forbear such conduct, it would prove, that the 
4* 



82 SKETCHES OF 

British could also restrain theirs if they wished to do it» 
He humorously told them he had been informed that 
general Proctor had promised to deliver him into the 
hands of Tecumthc, if he succeeded against Fort Meigs, 
to be treated as that warrior might think proper.*— 
*' Now if I can succeed in taking Proctor, you shall have 
him for your prisoner, provided you will agree to tri-at 
him as a squaic, and only put petticoats upon him ; for he 
must be a coward who would kill a defenceless pris- 
oner."} 

In the month of June, while at Franklinton, general 
Harriiion was informed that Fort INIcigs was again invest- 
ed. Although he doubted the intention of the enemy to 
attack that place, at this time, he promptly started a re- 
inforcement to its relief, and on the 28th reached there in 
person. It proved to be a false alarm, and the general 
returned to Lower Sandusky, on the 1st of July, and on 
the following day, set off for Cleveland, on business con- 
nected with the public stores, and the building of boats 
for transporting the army across the lake. On the 23rd, 
a body of eight hundred Indians were seen to pass Fort 
Meigs, for the purpose, it was supposed, of attacking 
Fort Winchester. Two days afterwards, the British and 
Indians appeared in great numbers, before Fort Meigs, 
then commanded by general Clay. In the meantime, 
captain Oliver, accompanied by captain McCune, was 
sent to apprise the commander-in-chief of the fact ; and 
reached him at Lower Sandusky, with certain informa* 

* We find the following note in Dawson, on tliis subject : — 
*' There is no doubt that when Proctor made the arrangement 
for the attack on Fort Meigs with Tecumthe, the latter insisted, 
vuid the former agreed, that general Harrison, and all who fought 
at Tippecanoe, should be given up to the Indians to be burned. 
Major Ball of the dragoons ascertained this fact from the priso- 
ners, deserters, and Indians, all of whom agreed to its truth." 

On the supposition that this statement be true, it proves that 
Tecv.mthe meditated the violation of the agreement he made 
with general Harrison, at Vincennes, in 1810, that in the event 
of a war, prisoners, and women and children, should be pro- 
tected. On no other occasion is he known to have departed 
from the spirit of his engagement. -j-M'Afee. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 83 

tion that the united force of the enrmy, principally In- 
dians, was not less than five thousand — a greater number 
than had ever before assembled on any occasion during 
the war. General Harrison, with remarkable accuracy 
of judgment, as the result proved, came to the conclu- 
sion, that this investment of Fort Meigs was a feint, 
made by the enemy, to call his attention to that place, 
while Lower Sandusky or Cleveland, was really the 
point on which the next attack would be made. He im- 
mediately removed his head quarters to Seneca, nine 
miles above Lower Sandusky. From this place he could 
fall back and protect Upper Sandusky, or pass by a se- 
cret route, to the relief of Fort Meigs — two points to be 
defended, — Lower Sandusky being comparatively of lit- 
tle importance. Major Croghan was left at Lower San- 
dusky, with one hundred and sixty regulars, for the de- 
fence of Fort Stephenson. There were about six hun- 
dred troops at Seneca — a force too small to advance upon 
Fort Meigs. Captain McCune was sent back to general 
Clay, with the information, that as early as the comman- 
der-in-chief could collect a sufficient number of troops, 
he would relieve the fort. The day after the return of 
the express, the enemy raised the siege. As had been 
anticipated by general Harrison, the British sailed round 
into Sandusky bay, while the Indians marched across the 
swamps of Portage river, to aid in the projected attack 
on Lower Sandusky. 

As early as the 21st of April, of this year, general 
Harrison, in a letter to the secretary of war, in speaking 
of the ulterior operations of the campaign, remarked : " I 
shall cause the movements, of the enenay to be narrowly 
■watched; but in the event of their landing at Lower 
Sandusky, that post cannot be saved. I will direct it in 
such an event, to be evacuated. The stores there are 
not of much consequence, excepting about five hundred 
stand of arms, which I will cause to be removed as soon 
as the roads are practicable, — at present it is impossible." 
These arms were subsequently removed. Just before 
the express from Fort Meigs reached general Harrison, 
he, in company with major Croghan and other officers, 
had examined Fort Stephenson, and concluded that it 



84 SKETCHES OF 

could not be defended ag-ainst heavy artillery ; and, if the 
British should approach it by water, — which would raise 
a presumption, that they had brought their heavy artil- 
lery — the fort must be abandoned and burnt, provided a 
retreat could be effected with safety. In the orders left 
with major Croghan, it was stated: "Should the British 
troops a[)proach you in force with cannon, and you can 
discover them in time to effect a retreat, you will do so 
immediately, destroying all the public stores.* You 
must be aware, that the attempt to retreat in the face of 
an Indian force, would be vain. Against such an enemy 
your garrison would he safe, however great the number." 
On the 29lh, general Harrison was informed that the 
siecje of Fort Meiffs had been abandoned. The scouts 
sent out by him, reported that from the indications, they 
believed an attack was meditated by the Indians, then 
lying in numbers on the south side of Fort Meigs, upon 
Upper Sandusky. Upon this information, a council of 
war was called, composed of McArthnr, Cass, Ball, Paul, 
"Wood, Hukill, Holmes and Graham, who were unani- 
mously of opinion, that as Fort Stephenson was untena- 
ble against heavy artillery, and as it was relatively an 
unimportant post, that the garrison should not be rein- 
forced, but withdrawn, and the place destroyed. The 
following order was forthwith sent to major Croghan :— • 
"Sir: Immediately on receiving this letter, you will 
abandon Fort Stephenson, set fire to it, and repair with 
your command this night to head quarters. Cross the 
river, and come up oti the other side. If you should find 
or deem it impracticable to make good your march to this 
place, take the road to Flnron, and pursue it with the ut- 
most circumspection and dispatch." The bearer of this 
dispatch losing his way, it did not reach major Croghan 
until eleven o'clock of the next day. The major was 
then of opinion that he could not retreat with safety, as 
the Indians were around the fort, in considerable num- 
bers. A majority of his oflUcers concurred in the opinion 
that to retreat was unsafe, and that the post could be 

* The amount of stores at this place was inconsiderable ; 
every thing valuable had been previously removed. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 85 

maintained until at least further instructions were receiv- 
ed from head quarters. The major, therefore, promptly 
returned the following answer: "Sir: I have just re- 
ceived yours of yesterday, ten o'clock, P. M., ordering 
me to destroy this place, and make good my retreat, 
which was received too late to be carried into execution. 
We have determined to maintain this place, and, by 
heavens, we can." The strong language of this note 
was used on the supposition that it might fall into the 
hands of the enemy. It reached the general on the same 
day, who, not fully understanding ihe motives under 
which it was written, sent colonel Wells next morning, 
escorted by colonel Ball, and a detachment of dragoons, 
with the following order : 

July 30th, 1813. 
"SiR.wThe general has just received your letter of 
this date, informing him that you had thought proper to 
disobey the order issued from this office, and delivered 
to you this morning. It appears that the information 
which dictated the order was incorrect; and as you did 
not receive it in the night, as was expected, it might have 
been proper that you should have reported the circum- 
stance and your situation, before you proceeded to its ex- 
ecution. This might have been passed over; but I am 
directed to say to you, that an officer who presumes to 
aver, that he has made his resolution, and that he will 
act in direct opposition to the orders of his general, 
can no longer be entrusted with a separate command. 
Colonel Wells is sent to relieve you. You will deliver 
the command to him, and repair with colonel Ball's 
squadron to this place. By command, «fcc. 

*'A. H. HoLJiES, Ass't. Adjutant General^ 
In passing down, the dragoons met with a party of 
fourteen Indians, and killed twelve of them. When 
major Croghan reached head quarters, he explained to 
the general his motives in writing the note, which were 
deemed satisfactory. In the meantime, the scouts had 
reported to general Harrison that the Indians had not 
gone in the direction of Upper Sandusky. Upon receiv- 

H 



86 SKETCHES OF 

ing this information, major Croo^haii was directed to re- 
sume bis post, with written instructions of the same 
import as had been previously given. 

On the evening- of the 31st of July, some scouts sent 
out by general Harrison, discovered the British within 
twenty miles of Fort Stephenson, approaching the place 
by water. It was after twelve o'clock, however, on the 
next day, August Ist, before these scouts, in returning 
to Seneca, by Lower Sandusky, communicatad this in- 
formation to major Croghan, and in a few hours after- 
wards the fort was actually invested by the British and 
Indians. A flag was now sent from the enemy demand- 
ing a surrender. The messenger was informed that the 
coinmandant and garrison were determined to defend it 
to the last extremity. The attack was promptly com- 
menced, and gallantly sustained. The result was glo- 
rious to the American arms, and covered the gallant Cro- 
ghan and his officers and men, with honor. Only one 
man was killed, and but seven wounded, belonging to 
the garrison. The loss of the enemy was not less than 
one hundred and fifty in killed and wounded. 

General Harrison, when informed of the attack on 
Fort Stephenson, paused before moving to its relief. He 
was hourly expecting considrrahle reinforcements from 
the interior, but had not with him at Seneca, a disposable 
force of more than eight hundred men, the fifth of whom 
were cavalry, who, in the thick woods extending ^ne 
greater part of the way, between that place and Lower 
Sandusky, would have been of little use. The remain- 
der of these eight hundred men were raw recruits. To 
have marched upon an enemy, several thousand strong, 
with such a force, would, in all human probability, have 
resulted in its total destruction. Again, in moving to 
Fort Stephenson, he must necessarily leave the camp at 
Seneca with one hundred and fifty sick soldiers in it, ex- 
posed to the Indian tomahawk; while Upper Sandusky, 
at which were ten thousand barrels of flour, besides other 
supplies of public stores, indispensable for the main ob- 
jects of, the compaign, was equally liable to be attacked 
and destroyed by Tecumthe, who, with two thousand 



GENERAL HARRISON. 87 

warriors, was then lying in the swamp, between that 
point and Fort ^leigs, ready to strike upon either Seneca 
or Upper Sandusky, in the event of general Harrison's 
moving to Fort Stephenson. Under these circumstances, 
he was bound by every military principle, to retain that 
position in v.hich lie could, with the most certainty, ac- 
complish the best results. He therefore determined to 
wait, for a time, at least, the progress of events, hoping 
that reinforcements would arrive before the fort could be 
reduced. On the night of the 2nd, he was informed that 
the enemy was retreating, and early next morning, having 
in the night been reinforced by three hundred Ohio mi- 
litia, he set out for the fort attended by the dragoons, and 
directing the remainder of the disposable force to follow 
under generals Cass and McArthur. Upon reaching the 
fort, the general was told by a wounded sergeant of the 
British troops, that Tecumthe was in the swamp, south 
of Fort Meigs, ready to strike at Upper Sandusky, on 
the first opportunity. This information, corroborative of 
what he had before heard, induced the commander-in- 
chief to direct general McArthur, who had not yet reach- 
ed the fort, to return to Seneca with all possible dispatch. 

In his official report of this affair, general Harrison 
said : " It will not be among the least of general Proc- 
tor's mortifications to find that he has been baffled by a 
youth, who has just passed his twenty-first year. He is, 
however, a hero worthy of his gallant uncle, George R. 
Clark." The president immediately conferred the brevet 
rank of lieutenant-colonel, on major Croghan. 

Shortly afterwards an attack was made in some public 
prints upon the conduct of general Harrison, in regard 
to the defence of Fort Stephenson. Major Croghan 
promptly replied to it, by forwarding to a newspaper in 
Cincinnati, a communication, under date of Lower San- 
dusky, August 27th, 1812, in which he gives the reason 
already stated, for disobeying general Harrison's order 
to destroy the fort, and retreat to Seneca, and says : 

" I have with much regret seen in some of the public 
prints, such misrepresentations respecting my refusal to 
evacuate this post, as are calculated not only to injure 
me in the estimation of military men, but also to excite 



88 SKETCHES OF 

unfavorable impressions as to the propriety of general 
Harrison's conduct relative to this alFair. 

"His character as a military man is too well establish- 
ed to need my approbation or support. But his public 
services entitle him at least to common justice. This af- 
fair does not furnish cause of reproach. If public opin- 
ion has been lately misled respecting his late conduct, it 
will require but a moment's cool, dispassionate reflec- 
tion, to convince them of its propriety. The measures 
recently adopted by him, so far from deserving censure, 
are the clearest proofs of his keen penetration, and able 
generalship." 

The letter concludes with the following paragraphs, 
alike honorable to the soldier and the gentleman : 

" It would be insincere to say that I am not flattered 
by the many handsome things which have been said 
about the defence which was made by the troops under 
my command ; but I desire no plaudits which are bestow- 
ed upon me, at the expense of general Harrison. 

"I have at all limes enjoyed his confidence so far a3 
my rank in the army entitled me to it. And on proper 
occasions received his marked attention. I have felt the 
warmest attachment for him as a man, and my confidence 
in him as an able comntander remains unshaken. I feel 
every assurance that he will at all times do me ample 
justice ; and nothing could give me more pain than to 
see his enemies seize upon this occasion to denl out their 
unfriendly feelings and acrimonious dislike — and as long 
as he continues (as in my humble opinion he has hith- 
erto done) to make the wisest arrangements and most ju- 
dicious disposition, which the forces under his command 
will justif}^ I shall not hesitate to unite with the army 
in bestowing upon him that confidence which he so richly 
merits, and which has on no occasion been withheld." 

About the same time, the followinor article was pub- 
lished in one of the public prints of Cincinnati; 

" Lower Seneca Town, August 29th, 1813. 
"The undersigned, being the general, field, and staflT, 
officers, with that portion of the north-western army 
under the immediate command of general Harrison, hav« 



GENERAL HARRISON. 89 

observed with regret and surprise, that charges, as 
improper in the form, as in the substance, have been 
made against the conduct of general Harrison during 
the recent investment of Lower Sandusk3^ At another 
time, and under ordinary circumstances, we should deem 
it improper and unmilitary thus publicly to give any 
opinion respecting the movements of the army. But 
public confidence in the commanding general is essen- 
tial to the success of the campaign, and causelessly 
to withdraw or to withhold that confidence, is more than 
individual injustice; it becomes a serious injury to the 
service. A part of the force, of which the American 
army consists, will derive its greatest strength and 
efficacy from a confidence in the commanding general, 
and from those moral causes which accompany and give 
energy to public opinion. A very erroneous idea re- 
specting the number of the troops then at the disposal of 
the general, has doubtless been the primary cause of 
those unfortunate and unfounded impressions. A sense 
of duty forbids us from giving a detailed view of our 
strength at that time. In that respect, we have for- 
tunately experienced a very favorable change. But we 
refer the public to the general's ofl[icial report to the 
secretary of war, of major Croghan's successful defence 
of Lower Sandusky. In that will be found a statement 
of our whole disposable force; and he who believes 
that with such a force, and under the circumstances 
which then occurred, general Harrison ought to have 
advanced upon the enemy, must be left to correct his 
opinion in the scliool of experience. 

" On a review of the course then adopted, we are 
decidedly of the opinion, that it was such as. was dic- 
tated by military wisdom, and by a due regard to our 
own circumstancc;s and to the situation of the enemy. 
The reasons for this opinion it is evidently improper 
now to give, but we hold ourselves ready at a future 
period, snd when other circumstances shall have inter- 
vened, to satisfy every man of its correctness who is 
anxious to investigate and willing to receive the truth. 
And with a ready acquiescence, beyond the mere claims 
of military duty, we are prepared to obey a general^ 

h2 



90 SKETCHES OF 

whose measures meet our most deliberate approbation, 
and merit that of his country. 

Lewis Cass, Brig". Gen. U. S. A. 
Samuel Wells, Col. 17 R. U. S. I. 
Thos. D. Owlngs, Col. 28 R. U. S. I. 
George Paul, Col. 17 R. U, S. I. 
J. C. Bartlett, Col. Q. M. G. 
James V. Ball, Lieut. Col. 
Robert Morrison, Lieut. Col. 
George Todd, Maj. 19 R. U. S. I. 
• William Trigg, Maj. 28 R. U. S. L 
James Smiley, Maj. 28 R. U. wS. L 
Rd. Graham, Maj. 17 R. U. S. I. 
Geo. Croghan, Maj. 17 R. U. S. L 
L. HuKiLL, Maj. & Ass. Insp. Gen. 
E. D. Wood, Maj. Engineers." 

These two documents, spontaneously given, and from 
the highest possible authority, must, with all honorable 
minds, relieve the commander-in-chief from the censure 
which partizan illiberality, attempted to cast upon him, 
in this affair. It is plucking no leaf from the laurels 
which the gallantry of the youthful Croghan entwined 
around his brows, in the defer. ce of Fort Stephenson, to 
claim for his commander, llie credit of having acted, on 
this occasion, with prudence, fidelity, and profound mili- 
tary skill. 

As soon as this invasion of the territory of Ohio was 
known, governor Meigs called upon the militia of the 
state to repel the enemy. The appeal was promptly and 
nobly responded to, but the abandonment of the siege of 
Fort Meigs, and the gallant drfence of Fort Stephenson, 
rendered their services unnecessary. When the militia 
were disbanded, without an opportunity of meeting the 
foe, or being employed in the main expedition ag-ainst 
Canada, there was much discontent among them. To 
allay this feeling, general Harrison met them at Upper 
Sandusky; and, throuoh the governor, made known the 
reasons for their being dis])anded. These were, mainly, 
that to retain in ramp all the Ohio troops, then embo- 
died, was impossible, as the embarkation on tho lake 



GENERAL HARRISON. 91 

could not be effected under fifteen or eighteen days, and 
so large a force, even for a short time, would consume 
the provisions provided for the support of the campaign. 
The delay in movinfr upon Canada arose from a cause 
which general Harrison could not then publicly explain, 
lest it should reach the enemy. Under the plan of the 
campaign, he was not to cross the lake until he had the 
full co-operation of commodore Perry's fleet. The pe- 
riod when this could be obtained was uncertain. Under 
such circumstances, the retention of so large a body of 
militia, in camp, would have defeated the plan of the 
campaign. At the same time, the commander-in-chief 
bore his testimony to the fact, that the exertions made by 
governor Meigs to assemble the militia, and the prompti- 
tude with which the call had been met, was truly astonish- 
ing, and reflected the highest credit on the state. Some 
of the disbanded- oflicers, however, met together, notwith- 
standing this explanation, and in a moment of popular 
discontent, passed resolutions to the effect, that they 
were greatly disappointed in not being kept in service, 
and that there was something mystprious in the conduct 
of general Harrison. The cool reflection of these ofll- 
cers, and a subsequent knowledge of the whole plan of 
the campaign, have long since caused them to regret their 
course on this occasion; and, to admit with a frankness 
honorable to their character, that they had done great in- 
justice to the commander-in-chief. 

Active preparations for the expedition against Upper 
Canada were now making. The call by general Harri- 
son, on the governor of Kentucky, for volunteers, was 
promptly responded to, by the venerable Shelby, who, in 
a patriotic appeal to the people of that state, appointed 
the 31st of August for the rendezvous of the troops at 
Newport. Public attention was now directed with great 
intenseness, to the rival fleets on lake Erie. About the 
2nd of August, the vessels under commodore Perry were 
finally equipped. On the 5th, general Harrison visited 
the fleet, and furnished the commander with a company 
of soldiers, to act as marines, who were at'terwards ac- 
knowledged 10 have performed a valuable service. Col- 
onel Johnson, with his mounted regiment, was recalled 



92 SKETCHES OF 

frnm Kentucky, to the frontiers. Every exertion wag 
made along- the whole line from Cleveland to Fort Meigs, 
to hasten on the stores, while frovernor Shelby was stea- 
dily advancing with a strong body of mounted men 
towards the scene of action. In the midst of these ac- 
tive preparations, in which the energy of the coumiander- 
in-cliief was everywhere perceptible, he received on the 
12tli of Scpienjber, at Seneca, a note in wliich commo- 
dore Perry says : 

*' We have met the enemy and they are ours — two 
ships, two brigs, one schooner, and a sloop." 

This important and glorious news spread, with the 
rapidity of an electric shock, throughout the whole line 
of the army, and as it reached the various detachments, 
pressing on to the shore of the lake, it quickened their 
speed, and awakened a burning desire to achieve a 
victory equally brilliant over ihe enemy under Proctor. 
On the 20th, the embarkation commenced from the mouth 
of Portage river. On the 2Gth, the army reached the 
Middle Sister, — having touched at Put-in-bay, where a 
general order of debarkation, of march and of battle, was 
issued by the commander-in-chief, which, for lucid mi- 
nuteness and military acumen, has been pronounced by 
competent judges, to be unsurpassed in its kind. On 
the morning of the 27ih, the final embarkation of the 
army commenced, in sixteen vessels and upwards of 
eighty boats. The sun shone in all his autumnal beauty, 
and a gentle breeze hastened onward the ships to that 
shore, on which it was anticipated the banner of our 
country would have to be planted, amid the thunder of 
British arms, and the yells of ferocious Indians. While 
moving over the bosom of the lake, — every eye en- 
chanted with the magnificence of the scene, and every 
heart panting for the coming opportunity of avenging 
their country's wrongs, — the beloved commander-in-chief 
caused the following address to be delivered to his army : 

"The general entreats his brave troops to remember, 
that they are the sons of sires whose fame is immortal ; 
that they are to fight for the rights of their insulted coun- 
try, while their opponents combat for the unjust preten- 
sions of a master. Kentuckians ! remember the river 



GENERAL HARRISON. 93 

Raisin ; but remember it only^ whilst victory is suspend- 
ed. Tlie revenge of a soldier cannot be gratified upon a 
fallen enemy." 

When this stirring appeal was read, on each ves- 
sel, and in each boat, the shouts of " Harrison and 
victory," rose, successively, from an army of freemen, 
and went booming over the rippling waters. Tlie land- 
ing was effected at four o'clock, with a celerity and 
an order, as remarkable as the spectacle was beautiful 
and grand ; and, about sundown, the army entered Mai- 
den in triumph, heralded by the national air of " yaiikee 
doodle." The enemy had fled — the town was nearly de- 
serted, and the fort a pile of siiiouldering ruins On the 
29ih, the army reached Sandwich, in pursuit of the re- 
treatino- foe. 

At this place, a council was held, on the question of a 
choice of routes, over which to pursue Proctor. The 
one up the Thames was finally selected. Personal ani- 
mosity towards the commander-in-chief, subsequently 
gave rise to the charge, that in this council, he was op- 
posed to the pursuit of the enemy, and was reluctantly 
forced into it, by the venerable hero of King's Mountain, 
"who commanded, in person, the Kentucky troops on this 
memorable expedition. That the reader may see the fal- 
sity of this allegation, we here break the thread of our 
narrative, to introduce the followino- letters, which con- 
tain the most ample refutation of a charge as unfounded 
as it is malicious : 

Frankfort, Jpril 21, 1816. 

"Dear General: — Your letter of the 15th instant 
has been duly received, in which you stated that a charge 
has been made against you, ' that you were forced to 
pursue Proctor from my remonstrances,' and that I had 
said to you upon that occasion, ' that it was immaterial 
what direction you took, that I was resolved to pursue 
the enemy up the Thames ;' and you request me to give 
you a statement of facts in relation to the council of war 
held at Sandwich. 

" I will, in the first place, freely declare that no such 
language ever passed from me to you, and that I enter- 



94 • SKETCHES OF 

tained throughout the campaign, too high an opinion of 
your military talents, to doubt for a moment your capacity 
to conduct the army to the best advantage. It is well 
recollected, that the army arrived at Sandwich in the 
afternoon of the 29th of September, and that the next 
day was extremely w^et. I was at your quarters in the 
evening of that day; we had a conversation relative to 
the pursuit of the enemy, and you requested me to see 
you early the next morning. I waited on you just after 
daybreak — found you up, apparently waiting for me ; you 
led me into a small private room, and on the way ob- 
served, ' We must not be heard.' You were as anxious 
to pursue Proctor as I was, but might not have been en- 
tirely satisfied as to the route. You observed that there 
were two ways by which he might be overtaken: one 
was down the lake by water, to some post or point, of 
the name of which I am now not positive ; thence to 
march across by land twelve miles to the road leading up 
the Thames, and intercept him. The other way by land, 
up the strait, and up the Thames. I felt satisfied, by a 
pursuit on land, that he could be overhauled, and ex- 
pressed that opinion, with the reasons on which it was 
founded, and we readily agreed in sentiment; but you 
observed, as there were two routes by which Tie might 
be overtaken, to determine the one most proper was a 
measure of great responsibility, that you would take the 
opinion of the general officers as to the most practicable 
one, and you requested me to collect them in one hour at 
your quarters. I assembled them accordingly, to whom 
you stated your determination to pursue Proctor, and 
your object in calling them together; and after explain- 
ing the two routes by which he might be overtaken, you 
observed, ' that the governor thinks, and so do I, that the 
pursuit by land up the Thames, will be most effectual." 
The general officers were in favor of a pursuit by land ; 
and in the course of that day, colonel Johnson, with his 
mounted regiment, was able to cross over from the De- 
troit side to join in the chase. He might, however, have 
been ordered the day before, during the rain, to cross 
over with his regiment ; but of this I have not a distinct 
recollection. The army I know was on its march by 



GENERAL HARRISON. 95 

sunrise on the morning of the 2nd of October, and 
continued the pursuit (often in a run,) until the evening 
of the 5th, when the enemy was overtaken. During the 
whole of this long and arduous pursuit, no man could 
make greater exertions, or use more vigilance than you 
did to overtake Proctor, whilst the skill and promptitude 
with which you arranged the troops for battle, and the 
distinguished zeal and bravery you evinced during ita 
continuance, merited and received my highest approba- 
tion. 

" In short, sir, from the time I joined you to the mo- 
ment of our separation, I believe that no commander 
ever did or could make greater exertions than you did 
to effect the great objects of the campaign. I admired 
your plans, and thought them executed with great ener- 
gy ; particularly your order of battle, and arranCTements 
for landing on the Canada shore, were calculated to in- 
spire every officer and man with a confidence that we 
could not be defeated by. anything like our own number." 

" Until after I had served the campaign of 1813, I was 
not aware of the difficuliies which you had to encounter 
as commander of the north-western army. I have since 
often said, and still do believe, that the duties assigned 
to you on that occasion, were more arduous and difficult 
to accomplish than any I had ever known confided to 
any commander ; and with respect to the zeal and fidel- 
ity with which you executed that high and important 
trust, there are thousands in Kentucky, as well as my- 
self, who believed it could not have been committed to 
better hands. 

*' With sentiments of the most sincere regard and 
esteem, I have the honor to be, with great respect, vour 
obedient servant, ISAAC SHELBY. 

" Major General William Henry Harrison.^'' 

Newport, August 18, 1817. 
" My Dear Sir : — I have received your letter of the 
11th ult. in which you request me to reply to the fol- 
lowing questions, viz : first, ' Whether the statements 
made by governor Shelby in his letter to you of the 21st 
of April, 1816, be substantially correct]' to which I re- 



96 SKETCHES OF 

ply in the affirmative. Secondly, ' Whether you did 
ever, either in the council held at Sandwich, or in pri- 
vate conversation with me, evince anything- like an in- 
disposition to pursue the British army hy one of ihe two 
routes which were under consideration V — to which I 
answer in the negative. In a conversation which I held 
with you the morning prior to the assembling of the 
general council at Sandwich, you appeared particularly 
desirous of attempting to cut off the retreat of the Bri- 
tish army by the route from port Talbot. To your argu- 
ments in favor of this measure, I opposed our limited 
means of transportation, and the great difficulty and 
uncertainty of the lake navigation at this season of the 
year. These obstacles appeared to induce you to have 
recourse to the measure which was afterwards adopted. 

"Although I have little or no pretensions to military 
knowledge as relates to an army, still I may be allowed 
to bear testimony to your zeal and activity in the pursuit 
of the British army under general Proctor, and to say, 
the prompt change made by you in the order of battle, 
on discovering tiie position of the enemy, always has 
appeared to me to have evinced a high degree of military 
talent. I concur most sincerely w'ith the venerable 
governor Shelby, in his general approbation of your con- 
duct as far (as it came under my observation,) in that 
campaign. With great regard, I am, my dear sir, your 
friend, " 0. H. PERRY. 

" Major General W, H. Harrison.'*'' 

Extract of a letter from Governor Cass to General Harrison^ 
dated Detroit^ August 31, 1817. 
" Upon the subject of the council which was held at 
Sandwich, I cannot speak with precision ; I think that 
for some cause, I do not now recollect, I was not present 
at its deliberations. But I do recollect that at all the 
interviews I had with you, you were ardent and zeal- 
ous for the pursuit of Proctor; nor did I ever hear that 
a doubt had been expressed by you upon that subject, 
till long after the events themselves had passed away. 
In the letter from governor Shelby to you, which has 
been published, the governor has slated so correctly and 



GENERAL HARRISON. 97 

distinctly, the propositions which were made for the pur- 
suit of Proctor, that there is less necessity for me to 
enter into a detail of them. The main body of the ene- 
my's army had left Amherstburg some days before we 
landed, and were understood to be upon the river French. 
If conducted with common prudence, it was my opinion 
then, and it is my opinion yet, that they might have 
moved with such celerity as to have rendered it im- 
practicable for us to have overtaken them. A deep in- 
dentation of the lake some distance below Maiden would 
have brought us within a few miles of the road upon 
which Proctor retreated, and considerably advanced of 
the position where we overtook him. The propriety of 
pursuing him along the road he had taken, 'or of endeav- 
oring to intercept him by the other route, was the subject 
of conversation on our first arrival at Sandwich. But 
whenever I conversed with you, the latter route was 
mentioned as one which deserved examination rather than 
one upon which any decided opinion had been formed. 
Upon a consideration of its uncertainty at that season of 
the year, it was soon abandoned. I was with you fre- 
quently, and conversed with you freely, during our con- 
tinuance at Sandwich, and I am confident you never hes- 
itated in your deterniination to pursue Proctor. So far 
as my feeble testimony can aid in removinof erroneous 
jnnpressions, which have injured you, it is given with 
pleasure. From the time I joined the army under your 
command, its operations were conducted with as much 
celerity as possible, and so far as respects yourself, its 
fiscal concerns, I am confident, were managed with the 
most scrupulous integrity." 

5 I 

% 



98 SKETCHES OF 



CHAPTER IX. 

Battle of the Thames. — Documents as to the same — General 
Harrison sails for Buffalo. — Marches to Fort George. — Or- 
dered to his District. — Descends lake Ontario to Sackett's 
Harbor. — Passes to Cincinnati, via. New York, Philadelphia, 
and Washington. — Interference with his command by Gen- 
eral Armstrong. — Perry's letter. — M'Arthur's letter. — John- 
son's letter. — Croghan's letter. — Harrison's letter of resigna- 
tion to the President. — Governor Shelby's letter to the Pres- 
ident. 

When the army reached Sandwich, on the 29th, gen- 
eral M'Arthur was detached with his brigade to retake 
possession of Detroit, which for thirteen months had been 
in the possession of the British and Indians. The latter 
did not leave it until startled by a few rounds from one 
of our vessels. On the same day, the general, seizing 
the first moment to abrogate the martial law in force by 
Proctor, re-established the civil government of Michigan, 
to the great joy and relief of the inhabitants. 

Colonel .Johnson, with his mounted regiment, crossed 
the strait early on the 1st of October, and rejoined, the 
army. On the 2nd of October, the pursuit was resumed. 
On a fork of the Thames, near Chatham, a large party 
of Indians were found prepared to dispute the passage 
of that stream. A few shot from Wood's artillery dis- 
persed them. This was the place appointed by Proc- 
tor, in his conference with Teciimthe, to make a stand. 
** Here," said the former, " they would either defeat gen- 
eral Harrison, or there lay tlieir bones." Tecumthe ap- 
proved of the position, and said, "when he should look 
at the two streams, they would remind him of the Wa- 
bash and Tippecanoe."* The pursuit was continued 
with unabated speed, — the troops being frequently on 
a run, until the 5th, when near the Moravian towns, 

* A deep, unfordable creek falls into the Thames, near Chat- 
ham. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 99 

twelve miles beyond the crossing of the Thames, the 
enemy was overtaken. 

The position selected by the enemy was eminently ju- 
dicious. The British troops, amounting to eight or nine 
hundred, were posted with their left upon the river, 
which was unfordable at that point; their right extended 
to, and across a swamp, and united there with a body of 
Indians, led by the celebrated Tecumthe, amounting to 
eighteen hundred or two thousand. The British artil- 
lery was placed in the road along the river, near to the 
left of their line. At from two to three hundred yards 
from the river, a swamp extends nearly parallel to it, the 
intermediate ground being dry. This position of the 
enemy, with his flank protected on the left by the river, 
and on the ricrht by the swamp filled by the Indians, was 
evidently calculated to call for a display of military tal- 
ent in the opposing general, and of valor in his troops. 
As the wings could not be turned, general Harrison made 
his arrangements to concentrate his forces against the 
British line. The 1st division, under major-general 
Henry, was formed in three lines at one hundred yards 
from each other — the front line consisting of Trotter's 
brigade, the second line of Chiles's brigade, and the re- 
serve of King's brigade. These lines were in front of, 
and parallel to, the British troops. The second division, 
under major general Desha, composed of Allen's and 
Caldwell's brigades, was formed en potence^ or at right 
angles to the first division. Governor Shelby, as senior 
major general of the Kentucky troops, was posted at this 
crotchet, formed between the first and second divisions. 
Colonel Simrall's regiment of light infantry was formed 
in reserve, obliquely to the left division and covering the 
rear of the front division; and after much reflection as to 
the disposition to be made of colonel Johnson's mounted 
troops, they were directed, as soon as the front line ad- 
vanced, to take ground to the left, and, forniing upon that 
flank, to endeavor to turn the right of the Indians. A de- 
tachment of reo-ular troops of the 26ih United States in- 
fantry, under colonnl Paul, occupied the space between 
the road and the river for the purpose of seizing the ene- 
my's artillery ; and simultaneously with this movement, 



100 SKETCHES OF 

forty friendly Indians were to pass under the bank to. 
the rear of the British line, and by their fire induce the 
enemy to suppose tlieir own Indians had turned ayainst 
them. At the same time, colonel Wood had been in- 
structed to make preparations for using the enemy's ar- 
tillery, and take their own line by a flank fire. By refu- 
sing the left or second division, the Indians wpre kept in 
the air, that is, in a position in which they would be use- 
less. It will be seen, as ihe general anticipated, that 
they awaited in their position the advance of the second 
division, whilst the British left was contending with ihe 
American right. The Indians afterwards inquired why 
this division did not charge their line. This disposition 
of the troops was a combination of the modern tactics in 
Europe, with that prescribed by Washington and adopt- 
ed by general W^ayne. Johnson's corps consisted of nine 
hundred men, and the five brigades under governor Shel- 
by, amounted from fifteen to eighteen hunared, in all not 
exceeding two thousand seven hundred. 

In the midst of these arrangements, and just as the or- 
der was about to be given to the front line to advance, at 
the head of which general Harrison had placed himself 
with his staflT, major Wood approached him with the 
intelligence, that having reconnoitred the enemy he had 
ascertained the remarkable fact, that the British lines, in- 
stead of the usual close order, had been drawn up at open 
order. This departure from ordinary military principles 
in the formation cf the British troops, at once induced 
general Harrison to adopt the novel expedient of charg- 
ina the British lines with Johnson's mounted troops. 
This determination was communicated to colonel John- 
son, wlio was directed to draw up his regiment " in close 
column, with its right fifty yards from the road, (that it 
might be, in some measure, protected by the trees from 
the artillery.) its left upon the swamp, and to charge full 
speed upon the enemy." 

At this juncture, general Harrison, with his aids-de- 
camp, attended by general Cass and commodore Perry, 
advanced from the right of the front line of infantry, to 
the ricrht of the front of the column of mounted troops 
led by lieutenant colonel James Johnson and major Du- 



GENERAL HARRISON. 101 

val Payne. General Harrison personally gave the direc- 
tions for the charge to be made " when the right bat- 
talion of the mounted men received the fire of the Brit- 
ish ; the horses in the front of the column recoiled from 
the fire ; another was given by the enemy, and our col- 
umn at length getting in motion, broke through the ene- 
my with irresistible force. In one rninute the contest in 
front was over. The British officers seeing no prospect 
of reducing their disordered ranks to order," and seeing 
the advance of infantry "andour mounted men wheeling 
upon them and pouring in a destructive fire, immediately 
surrendered."* 

The result of this charge decided the fate of the day. 
It uncovered the Indian left, and necessarily compelled a 
retreat, although the battle continued to rage severely to 
the left alonff the Indian line. Colonel Richard M. John- 
son, by the extension of his line, had come m contact 
with the Indians, who had made some impression upon 
him and the left of Trotter's brigade. As soon as the 
charge upon the right had taken etfect, general Harrison 
dispatched an order to governor Shelby to bring up Sim- 
rail's regiment to reinforce the point pressed by the In- 
dians, and then the general passed to the left to superin- 
tend the operations in that quarter. The governor, how- 
ever, had anticipated the wishes of the general, and 
bringing up Simrall's regiment, met the general near the 
crotchet, and soon after the battle ceased. The com- 
manding general then directed a portion of the right bat- 
talion, under major Payne, to pursue general Proctor, 
who had fled under the escort of a troop of dragoons and 
some mounted Indians. The pursuit was so hot for six 
miles beyond the Moravian town, that the British gene- 
ral was compelled to abandon his sword, papers, and 
carriage, which, with sixty-three prisoners, several In- 
dians killed, and an immense amount of stores, was the 
result of this daring enterprise by seven officers and three 
privates, who alone continued the pursuit after the first 
few miles. 

Our loss in this decisive battle, was from seventeen to 

* Official dispatch. 
i2 



102 SKETCHES OP 

twenty killed, and thirty to forty wounded. The British 
loss was six hundred and forty-five, of which eighteen 
were killed and twenty-six wounded ; and the Indians 
left on the ground and in the pursuit, between fifty and 
sixty killed, and, estimating the usual proportion of 
wounded, their total loss must have been near two hun- 
dred. . Among our gallant dead, was colonel Whitley, 
and lieutenant Logan. Colonel R. M. Johnson and cap- 
tains J. Davidson and Short, were severely wounded. 
Tecumthe, a brigadier-general in the British service, and 
the formidable chief of the Indian confederacy, fell in this 
memorable battle, by which an important territory was 
restored to the United States, the uppermost Canada was 
conquered, and the blessings of peace extended to the 
frontier settlements in the north-west. 

From a review of the arrangements and incidents in 
this battle, it will be seen that the plan of refusing the 
left wing, was attended with the happiest consequences. 
The force of the enemy consisted principally of Indians 
in position, with the right of their line thrown forward 
obtusely from the point where they united with the 
British : the latter appeared to constitute the weakest 
wing of the enemy ; and therefore general Harrison ex- 
hibited military genius in so arranging his troops as to 
suspend or avoid a conflict with the Indians, and concen- 
trate his strength against the British line. The severe 
loss inflicted by the Indians on colonel Johnson's left, 
and the small part of the infantry with which they came 
in contact, abundantly shews what would have been the 
loss of life, if the left wing had advanced upon the In- 
dian line. 

We introduce in this place, an extract of the oflficial 
letter of general Harrison, bearing testimony to the con- 
duct of his officers and soldiers in this battle. 

*' In communicating to the president through you, sir, 
my opinion of the conduct of the officers who served un- 
der my command, I am at a loss how to mention that of 
governor Shelby, being convinced that no eulogium of 
mine can reach his merit. The governor of an indepen- 
dent state, greatly my superior in years, in experience, 
and in military character, he placed himself under my 



1 



GENERAL HARRISON. 103 

^ 

comnicind, arid was not more remarkable for his zeal and 
activity, than for the promptitude and cheerfulness with 
which hB obeyed my orders. The major-generals Henry 
and Desha, and the brigadiers Allen, Caldwell, King, 
Chiles, and Trotter, all of the Kentucky volunteers, man- 
ifested great zeal and activity. Of governor Shelby's 
staff, his adjutant-general, colonel M'Dowell, and his 
quarter-master general, colonel Walker, rendered great 
service, as did his aids-de-camp, general Adair and ma- 
jors Barry and Crittenden. The military skill of the 
former was of great service to us, and the activity of the 
two latter gentlemen could not be surpassed. Illness 
deprived me of the talents of my adjutant-general, colo- 
nel Gaines, who was left at Sandwich. His duties were, 
however, ably performed by the acting assistant adju- 
tant-general, captain Butler. My aids-de-camp, lieutenant 
O'Fallon and captain Todd, of the line, and my volunteer 
aids, John Speed Smith and John Chambers, Esq. have 
rendered me the most important service from the opening 
of the campaign. T have already stated that general 
Cass and commodore Perry assisted me in forming the 
troops for action. The form.er is an officer of the high- 
est merit, and the appearance of the brave commodore 
cheered and animated every breast. 

" It would be useless, sir, after stating the circum- 
stances of the action, to pass encomiums upon colonel 
Johnson and his regiment. Veterans could not have 
manifested more firmness. The colonel's numerous 
wounds prove that he was in the post of danger. Lieu- 
tenant-colonel James Johnson and the majors Payne and 
Thomson were equally active, though more fortunate. 
Major Wood, of the engineers, already distinguished by 
his conduct at Fort Meigs, attended the army with two 
six pounders. Having no use for them in the action, he 
joined in the pursuit of the enemy, and with major Payne 
of the mounted regiment, two of my aids-de-camp, Todd 
and Chambers,* and three privates, continued it for seve- 

* Captain Langham, and lieutenants Scroggin and Bell, in- 
advertently omitted in this letter, v^^ere noticed in a subsequent 
general order, as being in the pursuit." 



104 SKETCHES OF 

ral miles after the rest of the troops had halted, and made 
many prisoners. 

♦* I left the army before an official return of the prison- 
ers, or that of the killed and wounded, was made out. It 
was however ascertained that the former amounts to six 
hundred and one regulars, including twenty-five officers. 
Our loss is seven killed and twenty-two wounded, five 
of which have since died. Of the British troops twelve 
were killed and twenty-two wounded. Tiie Indians suf- 
fered most — thirty-three of them having been found upon 
the ground, besides those killed on the retreat. On the 
day of the action, six pieces of brass artillery were taken, 
and two iron twenty-four pounders the day before. Sev- 
eral others were discovered in the river, and can be easily 
procured. Of the brass pieces throe are the trophies of 
our revolutionary war, that were taken at Saratoga and 
York, and surrendered by general Hull. The number 
of small arms taken by us and destroyed by the enemy 
must amount to upwards of five thousand ; most of them 
had been ours, and taken by the enemy at the surrender 
of Detroit, at the river Raisin, and colonel Dudley's de- 
feat. I believe that the enemy retain no other military 
trophy of their victories than the standard of the 4th reg- 
iment. They were not magnanimous enough to bring 
that of the 41st regiment into the field, or it would have 
been taken. 

" You have been informed, sir, of the conduct of the 
troops under my command in action; it gives me great 
pleasure to inform you, that they merit also the approba- 
tion of their country for their conduct, in submitting to 
the greatest privations with the utmost cheerfulness. 
The infantry were entirely without tents, and for several 
days the whole army subsisted on fresh beef without 
bread or salt. I have the honor to be, &c. 

"WILLIAM H. HARRISON. 

" P. S. General Proctor escaped by the fleetness of his 
horses, escorted by forty dragoons and a number of 
mounted Indians. 

" General James Armstrongs Secretary of War," 



GENERAL HARRISON. 105 

Colonel Wood, whose military eye discovered that 
po?ition of the enemy which induced general Harrison 
to change the mode of attack, introduced into his journal 
the following- criticism upon the events of the day : 

" It is really a novel thing that raw militia, stuck upon 
hor?es, with muskets in their hands instead of sabres, 
should he able to pierce British lines with such com- 
plete effect, as did Johnson's men in the affair upon the 
'J'hames ; and perhaps the anly circumstance which could 
justify that deviation from the long established rules of 
the art military, is the complete success of the result. 
Great generals are authorized to step aside occasionally 
— especially when they know that their errors will not 
be noticed by their adversary." 

Commodore Perry, in a letter to general Harrison of 
18th August, 1817, says: 

" The prompt change made by you in the order of bat- 
tle on discovering the position of the enemy, has always 
appeared to me to have evinced a high degree of mili- 
tary TALENT. I concur with the venerable Shelby in his 
general approbation of your conduct in that campaign." 

Mr. Madison, in his annual message to congress, thus 
notices, with rare discrimination and justice, the promi- 
nent actors in this scene: 

"The success on lake Erie having opened a passage 
to the territory of the enemy, the officer commanding the 
north-western army transferred the war thither, and rap- 
idly pursuing the hostile troops, fleeing with their sav- 
age associates, forced a general action, which quickly 
terminated in the capture of the British, and dispersion 
of the savage. force — This result is signally honorable 
to major-general Harrison, by M'hose military talents it 
was prepared ; to colonel Johnson and his mounted volun- 
teers, whose impetuous mset gave a decisive blow to the 
ranks of the enemy ; and to the spirit of the volunteer mi- 
litia, equally brave and patriotic, who bore an interestino- 
part in tlie scene ; more especially to the chief magistrate 
of Kentucky, at the head of them, whose heroism, signal- 
ized in the war which established the independence of 
his country, sought, at an advanced age, a share in hard- 
ships and battles, for maintaining its rights and its safety." 
5 * 



106 SKETCHES OF 

Mr. Cheves alludes to this event in a speech in con- 
gress, in the following terms : 

" The victory of Harrison was such as would have se- 
cured to a Roman general in the best days of the Repub- 
lic, the honors of a triumplj ! He put an end to the war 
in the uppermost Canada." 

And the patriotic Simon Snyder, governor of Pennsyl- 
vania, introduces the subject to the legislature in these 
terms : 

"Already is the hrow of the young warrior, Croghan, 
encircled with laurels, and the blessinjrs of thousands of 
women and children, rescued from the scalping knife of 
the ruthless savajre of the wilderness, and from the still 
more savage Proctor, rest on Harrison and his gallant 
army." 

The capture of the British, and dispersion of the In- 
dian force on the Thames, enabled general Harrison to 
proceed to the Niagara frontier with the brigade of McAr- 
thur, the rifle regiment under colonel Wells, and the battal- 
ion under colonel Ball. On this, as on a former occasion, 
he anticipated the wishes of the government ; for although 
he had received no instructions since the preceding July, 
his own judgment led him to transfer his disposable 
force to the Niagara strait, after he had accomplished 
the objects of the campaign. The want of the necessary 
provisions, and the season being too far advanced to en- 
counter the upper lakes, had previously determined the 
general and commodore Perry, to abandon the expedition 
against Macinaw. General Cass was stationed at De- 
troit with his brigade, and the civil government of Mich- 
igan and the military occupation of the uppermost Can- 
ada, committed to his charge. 

General Harrison sailed in Perry's fleet and reached 
Erie on the 22nd, and Buffalo on the 24th of October, 
and proceeded immediately to Newark, when he assu- 
med the command of the troops at that place, and Forts 
George and Niagara, then under the command of general 
McClure, of the New York militia. He received at this 
point from general Armstrong, secretary of war, a copy 
of the dispatch of the 22nd of September, which had been 
lost with captain Brown, in the attempt to pass up to 



GENERAL HARRISON. 107 

Detroit, in October. This letter suggested the propriety 
of general Harrison proceeding to the Niagara strait, af- 
ter he had secured Maiden and the army under Proctor. 
Another letter received about this time from the secretary 
of war, under date of the 20th of October, adds the au- 
thority of general Armstrong's military opinion, so far as 
it was entitled to weight, to the propriety of general 
Harrison having convened a council of war at Sandwich, 
to determine upon the route by which Proctor should be 
pursued. We introduce an extract of the letter to show 
that Armstrong recommended the very route which was 
not taken : 

"Sackett's Harbor, October 20, 1813. 

" We are, perhaps, too remote to profit by each oth- 
er's suggestions ; but it does not appear to mie that Sand- 
wich is the point at which Proctor will stop, if you pur- 
sue him. From Point aux Pins, on lake Erie, there is a 
good road to Chatham, on the Thames, the distance not 
more than twenty-four miles. Were this gained and 
traveled back to Sandwich, the enemy's means of sub- 
sistence might be destroyed, and himself compelled to 
surrender — but of the practicability of this, you are the 
best judge. My opinion is suggested by the map." 

The secretary of war, in a letter of the 30th of Octo- 
ber, recommended to general Harrison to move against 
the enemy, at Burlington Heights, near the head of lake 
Ontario, the capture or destruction of which, he says, 
would be a glorious finale to his campaign. But whilst 
the most active preparations were making to effect this 
object, another letter from the secretary, on the 3rd of 
November, four days later, required general Harrison to 
send McArthur's brigade to Sackett's Harbor, concluding 
with the declaration that the " general would be permit- 
ted to make a visit to his family, which he understood as 
an order to retire to his own district."* His letters of 
the 15th of November, 1813, to general M'Clure, show 
the sense in which general Harrison regarded this letter, 
which " left him no alternative as to the disposition of 
McArthur's brigade," and which he considered as " or- 



* M'Affee, 405. 



108 SKETCHES OF 

dering him to return to the westward." Generals Harri- 
son and McClure were actively eiigaoed in preparations 
against the enemy in conformity to Armstrong's sugges- 
tion on liie 30th of October, when these arrangements were 
arrested by the requisition contained in the letter of the 
3rd of November, and the arrival of commodore Chauii- 
cey, with his squadron, on tlie 11th of November. The 
commodore " was extremely pressing that the troops 
should immediately embark, declaring that the naviga- 
tion at that season, to small vessels, was very danger- 
ous."* The general accompanied the troops to Sackell's 
Harbor, and returned to his district by the way of New 
York, Philadelphia, and Washington. In the two for- 
mer cities, he received those evidences of public grati- 
tude which belong only to public benefactors. Early in 
January he resumed, at Cincinnati, the command of the 
8ih military district. 

The course of public opinion during the winter, indica- 
ted very decidedly that general Harrison ought to be in- 
vested with the chief command in the next campaign. 
Commodore Perry, who had witnessed the exertions, the 
skill and bravery of general Harrison, addressed to him 
about this period, a letter, in which he says, " You know 
what has been my opinion as to the future conimander- 
in-chief of the arniy. I pride myself not a little, I assure 
you, on seeing my predictions so near being verified ; yes, 
my dear friend, 1 expect to hail you as the chief who is to 
redeem the honor of our arms in the north." The veteran 
general McArthur, another eye-witness to the career of 
general Harrison, wrote to him early in 1814, from Al- 
bany, New York, from which the following is an extract : 
*' You, sir, stand the highest with the militia of this state 
oi any general in the service, and I am confident, that no 
man can fight them to so great an advantage ; and I think 
their extreme solicitude may be the means of calling you 
to this frontier." But from causes, which it is dilficult 
at this time to explain, general Armstrong's feelings and 
opinions in relation to general Harrison, had undergone 
a material change. His letter of the 14th May, 1814, 



* 5th vol. Niles. 333. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 109 

enclosing the plan of the campaign, as submitted to the 
president on the 30th of April, fully authorizes the infer-, 
ence that general Harrison would not be assigned any 
connmand in the adive operations of the approaching cam- 
paign. All of the troops in the 8th military district, ex- 
cepting garrisons for Detroit and Maiden, were to be 
held ill readiness to move down the lake to Buffalo, and 
general McArthur was designated for the command of 
those cnrps, including the 17th, 19th, 24th, and 28th reg- 
iments of regulars. This arrangement of all the disposa- 
ble force in the north-west, while it left general Harrison 
to remain in the 8th military district, was made after the 
receipt at the war office of his letter of the 13th of Feb- 
ruary, 1814, in which he expresses his views and feel- 
ings arising from the interference of the secretary in with- 
drawing general Howard from his command. That letter 
concludes with the following declaration: "Apart from 
the considerations of my duty to my country, I have no 
inducement to remain in the army, and if the prerogatives 
of my rank and station as the commander of a district, be 
taken from me, being fully convinced that I can render 
no important service, 1 should much rather be permitted 
to retire to private life."* 

This was the condition of things, when the secretary 
persevered in interferincr with his prerogatives, as the 
commander of the district, by dispatching to major 
Holmes, a subordinate officer at Detroit, an order to take 
two hundred men from that post, and proceed on board 
commodore Sinclair's fleet, destined to Macinaw. This 
proceeding on the part of the secretary, was a gross in- 
vasion of military propriety ; and whatever rnay have 
been the design, it authorized general Harrison to sup- 
pose it was not the intention of the secretary to respect 
his rank as coirimander of the district. The order not 
only passed by the general, but was derogatory to the 
rank of colonel Croghan, the immediate commander 
of the post. That gallant young officer spoke of this 
course without reserve; and in a letter to general Har- 
rison, made the following appropriate remarks: "Major 

• Dawson, 435. 
K 



110 SKETCHES OF 

Holmes has been notified by the war department, that he 
is chosen to command the land troops which are intended 
to co-operate with the fleet against the enemy's force on 
the upper lakes. So soon as I may be directed by you 
to order major Holmes on that command, and to furnish 
him with the necessary troops, I shall do so ; but not 
till then shall he, or any other part of my force, leave 
the sod." * In another letter to general Harrison, he re- 
marks : " I know not how to account for the secretary 
of war's assuming to himself the right of designating 
major Holmes for this command to Macinaw. My ideas 
on the subject may not be correct; yet for the sake of 
the principle, were I a general commanding a district, I 
would be very far from suffering the secretary of war, or 
any other authority to interfere with my internal police." f 
This order to major Holmes would authorize the infer- 
ence that the secretary may have had other correspon- 
dence with him or other inferior officers of the district. 
It was evidently a course of conduct indicating a very 
different state of feeling towards the only successful 
general of the previous campaigns, from that implied by 
the unlimited powers confided to him in 1812-'13. Of 
the impolicy and great indelicacy, of a secretary at war 
interferinor in tlie internal arrangements of the district 
confided to a commanding general, abundant evidence is 
afforded in the unmilitary order given to colonel Johnson 
in June, 1813, to march to St. Louis. Colonel Johnson 
and his regiment were anxious to participate in the con- 
templated movements into Canada, and were exceedingly 
mortified with this order, interfering as well with their 
wishes as with the internal police of the commanding 
general. It was on this trying occasion that colonel 
Johnson, on the 4th of July, appealed to general Harri- 
son, to countermand the order; but the general regarded 
it as 60 imperative that he would not disobey it. In the 
colonel's letter, he expressed the wish, to " serve under 
a general who was brave, skilful, and prudent ;'*'' but gen- 
eral Harrison would only so far modify the order, as to 
permit colonel Johnson and his regiment to take Ken- 

* M'Affee, 417. f M'Afee, 418. 



GENERAL HARRISON. Ill 

tucky in the route to St. Louis, in the hope that the 
horses might be recruited, and additional volunteers 
obtained. In the history of the late war in the west, it 
is stated, that "he had scarcely reached Kentucky, be- 
fore general Harrison had been authorized to recall him, 
by a letter from the war department, in which the secre- 
tary expressed his regret that the order for his march had 
ever reached general Harrison, and that the latter, know- 
ing the impropriety of the order., had not on that ground, 
delayed its execution." * 

Immediately upon the receipt by general Harrison, of 
the notification of the order to major Holmes, he sent to 
the war department a resignation of his commission in 
the army ; accompanied by a letter of the same date, 
to the president of the United States. The felicity of 
style, and nobleness of sentiment which characierize 
that letter, warrant its introduction into these sketches : 

"Head Quarters, Cincinnati, May 11, 1814. 

Dear Sir: — I have this day forwarded to the secretary 
of war, my resignation of the commission I hold in the 
army. 

" This measure has not been determined on, without a 
reference to all the reasons which should influence a cit- 
izen, who is sincerely attached to the honor and interests 
of his country ; who believes that the war in which we 
are engaged is just and necessary ; and that the crisis 
requires the sacrifice of every private consideration, 
which could stand in opposition to the public good. 
But after giving the subject the most mature considera- 
tion, I am perfectly convinced, that my retiring from the 
army is as compatible with the claims of patriotism, as 
it is with those of my family, and a proper regard for 
my own feelings and honor. 

"I have no other motives in writing this letter, than 
to assure you, that my resignation w^as not produced by 
any diminution of the interest I have always taken in 
the success of your administration, or of respect and 
attachment for your person. The former can only take 

* M'Affee, 337, 



112 SKETCHES OF 

place, when 1 forjgret the republican principles in which I 
have been educated ; and the latter, when I shall cease to 
regard those feelings, which must actuate every honest 
man, who is conscious of favors that it is out of his 
power to repay. Allow me, &c. 

» HARRISON. 
*' James Madison, Esq. President V. S. ." 

As soon as governor Shelby understood that general 
Harrison had forwarded his resignation, he addressed 
a liMter to the president, urcjintr him to dechne an ac- 
ceptance. The president was on a visit to Virginia, 
to which place the letters from general Harrison and 
governed Shelby were forwarded, and that of the lat- 
ter was not received, until ^her Jrm strung, wit hmit the 
previous consent of the president, had taken upon liiin- 
self the hiirh prerogative of accepting the resignation. 
The president expressed his 2reat regret that ifie letter 
of (Toverimr Shelby had not been received at an earlier 
date, as in that ca^^e the valuable services of general 
Harrison would have been preserved to the nation in the 
ensuing campaiirris. 

As that letter was w^ritten by a veteran soldier who 
had served under general Harrison, and also under Gates, 
Greene, and Marion, of the revolutionary war, by which 
he was enabled to judge of their comjjarative merits, we 
insert it, that the prf sent generation may form some idea 
of the loss sustained by the nation, in the resignation 
of general Harrison, produced by the course of general 
Armstrong in the war office. 

"Frankfort, Mot/ 15, 1814. 

Dear Sir: — The interest I feel for the prosperity of 
our beloved C( untry, at all times, but especially in the 
common cause in which she is at present engaoed, will, 
I flatter myself, he a sufficient apology for addressing 
you this letter. 'I'he motives w hich impel me, arise from 
considerations of public good, and are unknown to the 
gentleman who is the subject of the letter. 

" It is not my intention to eulogize general Harrison ; 



GENERAL HARRISON. 113 

he is not in need of that aid, his merits are too conspicu- 
ous not to be observed ; but it is my intention to express 
to you with candor, my opinion of the general, founded 
on personal observation. 

"A rumor has reached this state, which, from the public 
prints, appears to be believed, that the commanding gen- 
eral of the northern army, may be removed from that 
command. This circumstance has induced me to reflect 
on the subject, and to give a decided preference to major 
general Harrison, as a successor. Having served a cam- 
paign with general Harrison, by which I have been en- 
abled to form some opinion of his military talents, and 
capacity to command, I feel no hesitation to declare to 
you, that I believe him to be one of the jEirst military 
ciiaracters I ever knew; and, in addition to this, he is 
capable of making greater personal exertions than any 
officer with whom I have ever served. I doubt not but 
it will hereafter be found, that the command of the north- 
western army, and the various duties attached to it, has 
been one of the most arduous and difficult tasks, ever 
assigned to any officer in the United States ; yet he sur- 
mounted all. 

" Impressed with the conviction, that general Harri- 
son is fully adequate to the command of the northern ar- 
my, should a change take place in that division, I have 
ventured thus freely to state my opinion of him, that he is 
a consummate general, and would fill that station with 
ability and honor; and, that if, on the other hand, any 
arrangement should take place in the war department, 
"which may produce the resicrnation of general Harrison, 
itwill be a misfortune which our country will have cause 
to lament. His appointment to the command of the 
northern army, would be highly gratifying to the wishes 
of the western people, except some who may, perhaps, 
be governed by sinister views. 

"I confess the first impressions upon my mind, when 
informed of the defeat of colonel Dudley's regiment, on 
the 5th of May last, were unfavorable to general Harri- 
son's plans ; but on correct information, and a knowledge 
of his vvhfde plans, I have no doubt but they were well 
concerted, and might, with certainty, have been executed 

k2 



114 SKETCHES OF 

had his orders been strictly obeyed. I mention this sob- 
ject because Mr. H. Clay informed me that he had 
shewn you my letter, stating the impressions which that 
affair had first made upon my mind, on information that 
was not correct. 

♦* Hoping that my opinion of this meritorious officer will 
not be unacceptable to you, I have candidly expressed 
it, and hoping the apology stated in the preceding part 
of this letter, will justify the liberty taken of intruding 
opinions unsolicited. 

" I have the honor to be, most respectfully, 

*' Your obedient servant, 
"ISAAC SHELBY. 
*• His Excellency, James Madison, President U. 6'." 



CHAPTER X. 

Commissioner to treat with the Indians. — Elected to Congress 
in 1816. — Investigation of his conduct in that body. — Effort 
in favor of the pension laws. — Speech in regard to Kosci- 
usko. — .Speech on General Jackson's conduct in the Seminole 
war. — Favors the independence of the South American Ro- 
publics. — A gold medal, and the thanks of Congress award- 
ed him. — Elected to the Legi^U-.ture of Ohio. — Unfounded 
charge of having voted to sell white men imprisoned for 
debt. — Elected to the Senate of the United States, — Refutes 
Randolph's charge of federalism. — Minister to Colombia. — 
Letter to Bolivar. — Recalled by General Jackson. 

Having, from the causes stated in the previous chap- 
ter, resigned his commission in the army, general Harri- 
son returned to his farm at North Bend, fifteen miles 
below Cincinnati. During the summer of 1814, govern- 
ment appointed general Harrison, governor Shelby, and 
general Cass, to treat with the Indian tribes in the north- 
west. Governor Shelby declining on account of his otTi- 
cial station, general Adair was selected to fill his place. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 115 

A treaty was shortly afterwards concluded by them, 
with the Indians, at Greenville. After the peace ia 
1815, general Harrison was placed at the head of another 
commission, to treat with the Indians in regard to the 
restoration of the territory possessed by them before the 
war. The council was held in Detroit, and a treaty 
made, which embraced nine important tribes. 

In 1816, general Harrison was elected to congress, 
from the district in which he resided, havingf received 
more than a thousand votes over the aggregate number 
given to his six competitors. An army contractor hav- 
ing about this time made some charges against general 
Harrison's conduct, while in command in the west, he 
promptly invited an investigation. The committee in 
the house of representatives, by their chairman, R. M. 
Johnson, now vice-president of the United States, say in 
their report on this charge, made 23rd of January, 1817 : 
"The committee are unanimously of opinion, that gen- 
eral Harrison stands above suspicion, as to his having 
had any pecuniary or improper connection with the offi- 
cers of the commissariat, for the supply of the army ; 
that he did not wantonly or improperly interfere with the 
rights of contractors ; and that he was in his measures 
governed by a proper zeal and devotion to the public in- 
terest." When the report was read, Mr. Hulbert, of 
Massachusetts, a member of the committee, made some 
explanations, and concluded with the following remark: 
*'The most serious accusation against the general was, 
that while he was commander-in-chief in the west, re- 
gardless of his country's good, he was in the habit of 
managing the public concerns with a view to his own 
private interest and emolument. Mr. Hulbert said he 
could not refrain from pronouncing this a false and cruel 
accusation. He was confident that directly the reverse 
was true. There was the most satisfactory evidence, 
that the general, in the exercise of his official duties, 
in his devotion to the public interest, had neglected his 
private concerns to his material detriment and injury. 
In a word, said Mr. Hulbert, I feel myself anthorized to 
say, that every member of the committee is fully satis- 
fied, that the conduct of general Harrison in relation to 



116 SKETCHES OF 

the subject matter of this inquiry, has been that of a 
brave, honest, and honorable man ; that, iiistead of de- 
fiervingr censure, he merits the thanks and applause of 
his country." 

Soon after greneral Harrison took his seat in congress, 
he was placed at the head of the committee on the mili- 
tia. Early in the session, he moved the following reso- 
lution, which was agreed to : 

'■^Resolved,, That the military committee be instructed 
to report a bill providing by law for th.e relief of such 
of the officers and soldiers who, having faithfully served 
in the armies of the United States, arc now in distressed 
circumstances, and who, not having received wounds or 
disabilities whilst in actual service, are excluded from 
the benefits of the pension laws." 

This resolution led the way for that measure "which 
encircles the fame of this republic with a glory the an- 
cient republics could not boast of, by exhibiting to the 
world the most beautiful example on record, of a na- 
tion's GRATITUDE." 

During this session, there was a bill before the house 
to increase the compensation of members of congress, 
from six to nine dollars per day ; and on motion to strike 
out " nine" and insert "six" dollars as the daily pay, 
general Harrison said, that "in explaining what would 
otherwise appear an inconsistency in the vote he was 
about to give, he was aware that in order to preserve in 
congress talents of a proper grade, and to enable men of 
moderate property to come to that body without loss, a 
higher compensation was necessary than had heretofore 
been allowed to members of congress. But, said he, 
holding as we do, the key of the treasury, we ought not 
to do ourselves even justice, before we do it to others 
whose claims are stronger, and of longer standi?} g. Whex- 

EVER JUSTICE SHALL BE DONE TO THE SUFFERERS IN THE 
WAR OF THE REVOLUTION, AND NOT TILL THEN, I SHALL BE 
PREPARED TO DO JUSTICE TO OURSELVES." 

Shortly afterwards, general Harrison offered a resolu- 
tion for a committee to report " what measures it may be 
proper to adopt to manifest the public respect for the 
memory of general Thaddeus Kosciusko, formerly an offi- 



GENERAL HARRISON, 117 

cer in the service of the United States, and the uniform 
and distinguished friend of liberty and the ricrhts of 
man." On the presentation of this resolution, he made 
a most touchinnr and eloquent appeal to the house, which 
concluded in these words ; 

" Such was the man, sir, for whose memory I ask from 
an American congress a slight tribute of respect. Not, 
sir, to perpetuate his fame, but our gratitude. His fame 
will last as long as liberty remains upon the earth ; as 
long as a votary offers incense upon her altar, the name 
of Kosciusko will he invoked. And if, by the common 
consent of the world, a temple shall be erected to those 
who have rendered most service to mankind — if the statue 
of our great countryman shall occupy the place of the 
' most worthy,' that of Kosciusko will be found at his 
side, and the wreath of laurel will be entwined with the 
palm of virtue, to adorn his brow." 

The career of general Harrison, in congress, proved 
that he was eminently qualified for the duties of a legis- 
lator. He exhibited, while a member of that body, an 
intimate familiarity with the civil and military affairs of 
the country, and the possession of a vigorous and culti- 
vated mind. As a debater, he was ready, fluent, and for- 
cible — always courteous and dignified, eminently happy 
in illustrating his arguments by the history of other na- 
tions, both ancient and modern, with the philosophy of 
which, his mind is deeply and accurately imbued. His 
speeches on the organization of the militia of thie United 
States, the pension bill, the Seminole war, the recogni- 
tion of the independence of the South American repub- 
lics, may all be cited as masterly productions, teeming 
with deep pathos, pure patriotism, and eloquent argu- 
ment. 

"While general Harrison was in the house of repre- 
sentatives, the important debate arose, on the resolution 
to censure general Jackson for his conduct in the Semi- 
nole war; and he delivered on this subject a most elabo- 
rate and eloquent speech. It was one of the finest efforts 
elicited by that interesting occasion ; but is chiefly admi- 
rable for its impartial and patriotic spirit. "While he 
disapproved the course of general Jackson, and comment- 



118 SKETCHES OF 

ed on his conduct with the manly independence of a free- 
man, he defended such of the acts of that distinguished 
citizen as he thought right, and did justice to his mo- 
tives. His concluding remarks were as follows : 

" If the highest services could claim indemnity for 
crime, then might the conqueror of Plataea have been suf- 
fered to continue his usurpations until he had erected a 
throne upon the ruins of Grecian liberty. Sir, it will not 
be understood that I mean to compare general Jackson 
with these men. No; I believe that the principles of 
the patriot are as firmly fixed in his bosom as those of 
the soldier. But a republican government should make 
no distinctions between men, and should never relax its 
maxim-s of security for any individual, however distin- 
guished. No man should he allowed to say that he 
could do that with in)puriity which another could not do. 
If the father of his country were alive, and in the admin- 
istration of the government, and had authorized the ta- 
king of the Spanish posts, I would declare my disappro- 
bation as readily as I do now. Nay, more — because the 
more distinguished the individual, the more salutary the 
example. No one can tell how soon such an example 
may be beneficial. General Jackson will be faithful to 
his country ; but I recollect that the virtues and patriot- 
ism of Fabius and Scipio, were soon followed by the 
crimes of Marius and the usurpation of Sylla. I am 
sure, sir, that it is not the intention of any gentleman 
upon this floor to rob general Jackson of a single ray of 
glory ; much less to wound his feelings, or injure his rep- 
utation. And whilst I thank my friend from Mississippi, 
(Mr. Poindexter,) in the name of those who agree with 
me, that general Jackson has done wrong, I must be per- 
mitted to decline the use of the address which he has so 
obligingly prepared for us, and substitute the following, 
as more consonant to our views and opinions. If the res- 
olutions pass, I would address him thus: 'In the per- 
formance of a sacred duty imposed by their construction 
of the constitution, the representatives of the people have 
found it necessary to disapprove a single act of your bril- 
liant career; they have done it in the full conviction that 
the hero who has guarded her rights in the field, will 



GENERAL HARRISON. 119 

bow with reverence to the civil institutions of his coun- 
try — that he has admitted as his creed, that the character 
of the soldier can never be complete without eternal ref- 
erence to the character of the citizen. Your country has 
done for you all that a country can do for the most favor- 
ed of her sons. The age of deification is past; it was 
an age of tyranny and barbarism : the adoration of man 
should be addressed to his Creator alone. You have 
been feasted in the Pritanes of the cities. Your statue 
shall be placed in the capitol, and your name be found 
in the songs of the virgins. Go, gallant chief, and bear 
with you the gratitude of your country. Go, under the 
full conviction, that as her glory is identified with yours, 
she has nothing more dear to her but her laws, nothing 
more sacred but her constitution. Even an unintentional 
error shall be sanctified to her service. It will teach 
posterity that the government which could disapprove 
the conduct of a Marcellus, will have the fortitude to 
crush the vices of a Marius.' 

"These sentiments, sir, lead to results in which all 
must unite. General Jackson will still live in the hearts 
of his fellow-citizens, and the constitution of your coun- 
try will be imm-ortal."* 

In 1816, a resolution was introduced into the senate of 
the United States, voting gold medals and the thanks of 
congress, to Harrison and Shelby. Owing to the oppo- 
sition of the war parly, in that body, and certain charges 
preferred against general Harrison, his name was stricken 
out by two votes in committee of the whole. On the ques- 
tion to concur in the amendment to strike out Harrison's 
name, it was lost by one vote. Here the proceedinofs of 
this session closed, general Harrison's name being re- 
tained, and the resolution laid over. On the 21th of 
March, 1818, Mr. Dickerson, formerly governor of New 
Jersey, and late secretary of the navy under an appoint- 
ment from president Jackson, renewed the subject by 
offering anew, the same resolution, which he sustained 
by a strong eulogium on the military services of general 
Harrison; and, on the 30th, it passed the senate by a 

* Hall's Memoir. 



120 SKETCHES OF 

unanimous vote. On the 31st, the house concurred in 
the resolution with only one dissenting voice, and on tlie 
6th of April it received the approval of the president. It 
is in these words : 

Resolved, by the senate and house of representatives 
of the United States of America in congress assembled, 
that the thanks of congress be, and they are hereby pre- 
sented to major general William Henry Harrison, and 
Isaac Shelby, late governor of Kentucky, and, through 
them, to the oflicers and men under iheir command, for 
their gallantry and good condiict in defeating the com- 
bined British and Indian forces under major general 
Proctor, on the Thames, in Upper Canada, on the 5th 
day of October, one thousand eight hundred and thirteen, 
capturing the British army, with their baggage, camp 
equipage, and artillery ; and that the president of the 
United States be requested to cause two medals to be 
struck, emblematical of this triumph, and presented to 
general Harrison and Isaac Shelby, late governor of 
Kentucky. H- CLAY, 

Speaker of the House of Jiepresentaiives. 
JOHN GAILLAUD, 
President of the Senate, pro tempore. 

April 4, 1818. — Approved, 

JAMES MONROE. 

When governor Shelby heard of the effort in the sen- 
ate to strike out general Harrison's name, he wrote to his 
old commander, under date of May 10th, 1816, as fol- 
lows: "Don't let the conduct of ihe senate disturb your 
mind. I hope their resolution has been laid over as to 
both of us. The moment I heard of the course it was 
like to take, I wrote instantly to Mr. Clay, and express- 
ed my regret that it had been introduced, and how mor- 
tified I should feel to be noticed, if you were not in- 
cluded, who had rendered ten times more service to.the 
nation than I had." This letter is as creditable to the 
generous disit)terestedness of the governor, as it is to the 
public services of general Harrison. 

In the autumn of 1819, general Harrison was elected 
to the legislature of Ohio. One of his votes, while in 



GENERAL HARRISON. 121 

that body, having been greatly perverted, for party pur- 
poses, we deem it proper, in this place, to set the matter 
right. The charge is, that while in the senate of Ohio, 
he voted in favor of a law to sell white persons imprisoned 
under a judgment for debt, for a term of years, if unable 
otherivise to discharge the execution. This charge is un- 
true in every part. The law had no reference whatever 
to debtors — no such proposition was ever before the leg- 
islature of Ohio, nor could such a law be passed without 
a palpable violation of the constitution. It had respect 
solely to the mode of disposing oi public offenders, who 
had been found guilty by a jury of citizens, of crimes 
against the laws of the state. By the act then in force, 
criminals of different ages, sex and color, were crowded 
together in a common jail, where they were kept until 
their fines and the costs of prosecution were paid. The 
new law, in favor of which general Harrison voted, con- 
tained a section, providing, that in cases where criminals 
were sentenced to confinement in jail, until payment was 
made of fine and costs of prosecution — this being a part 
of the sentence, — the commissioners of the county were 
authorized to compel them to work upon the public 
roads ; or, in their discretion, to hire them out to the best 
bidder, until their wages would discharge the fines, for 
the non-paj'^ment of which they were kept in prison. 
This disposition of young offenders, and especially of 
females, was certainly more humane than to suflTer them 
to lie in jail — to work on the public roads, with a chain 
and ball upon their legs, or to be publicly whipped, as 
was provided for in the law for which this was to be the 
substitute. Whatever may be thought of its policy, one 
thing is absolutely certain — the law for which general 
Harrison voted, had no reference to persons imprisoned for 
debt. Subsequently to the time when this vote was 
given, the general, in an exposition of it, remarked, *' I 
have said enough to show that this obnoxious law would 
not h?ve applied to 'unfortunate debtors of sixty-four 
years,' but to infamous offenders who depredate upon the 
property of their fellow-citizens, and who, by tlie consti- 
tution of the state, as well as the principle of existing 
laws, were subject to involuntary servitude. I must con- 
6 L 



122 SKETCHES OF 

fess T had no very sanguine expectations of a beneficial 
eft'ect from llie measure, as it would apply to convicts 
who had obtained the age of maturity; but I had sup- 
posed that a woman, or a youth, who, convicted of an 
offencp, remained in jail for the payment of the fine and 
costs imposed, miffht with fjreat advatitan-e be transferred 
to the residence of some decent, virtuous private family, 
whose precept and example would gently lead them back 
to the paths of rectitude." 

In the autujnn of 1822, fjeneral Harrison boinfj a can- 
didate for congress, published a short address to the 
voters of his district, in which he sums up his political 
principles. We subjoin a portion of it, breathing the 
pure spirit of sound republicanism. 

" I believe, that upun the preservation of the union of 
the states depends the existence of our civil and religious 
liberties; and that the cement which binds it together is 
not a parcel of words written upon paper or parchment, 
but the brotiierly love and regard which the citizens of 
the several states possess for each otiier. Destroy this, 
and the beautiful fabric which was reared and embellish- 
ed by our ancestors crumbles into ruins. From its dis- 
jointed parts no temple of liberty will again be reared. 
Discord and wars will succeed to peace and harmony — 
barbarism will again overspread the land; or, what is 
scarcely better, some kindly tyrant will promulgate the 
decrees of his will, from the seat where a Washington 
and a Jefferson dispensed the blessings of a free and 
equal government. I believe it, therefore, to be the duty 
of a representative to conciliate, by every possible means, 
the members of our great political family, and always to 
bear in mind that as ihe union was effected only hy a spirit 
of mutual concession and forbearance^ so only can it be pre- 
served.''^ 

In the year 1824, the legislature of Ohio elected gene- 
ral Harrison to tlie senate of the United States, in which 
body, soon after taking his seat, he succeeded general 
JflckS'in as chairman of the committee on military affairs. 
W'hile a member of that body, among other measures, he 
strongly advocated a bill giving a preference, in the ap- 
pointment of cadets to the military academy at West 



GENERAL HARRISON. 123 

Point, to the sons of those who had fallen in battle, in their 
country^ s service. 

While in the senate, John Randolph, of Virginia, took 
occasion to renew an old charge ajrainst general Harri- 
son, of his having been a black-cockade federalist of '98, 
and of having voted for the alien and sedition laws of that 
period. As soon as Mr. Randolph had taken his seat, 
general Harrison rose, and with remarkable coolness and 
temper, considering tlie virulent and unprovoked charac- 
ter of the attack, he observed : " that the extraordinary 
manner in which his name had been brought before the 
senate, by the senator from Virginia, probably required 
some notice from him, though he scarcely knew how to 
treat such a charge as had been advanced against him 
seriously. The gentleman had charged him with being 
a black-cockade federalist of '98, and with having voted 
for the standing army and the alien and sedition laws. 
He had not so fertile a memory as the gentleman from 
Virginia, nor could he at command call up all the trans- 
actions of nearly thirty years ago. He could say, how- 
ever, that at the time alluded to, he was not a party man 
in the sense the senator from Virginia used — he was a 
delegate of a territory which was just then rising into 
importance, and havitig no vote on the general questions 
before congress, it was neither his duty nor the interest 
of those whom he represented, to plunge into the turbu- 
lent sea of general politics which then agitated the na- 
tion. There were questions of great importance to the 
north-western territory then before congress, questions 
upon the proper settlement of which, the future prosper- 
ity of that now important portion of the Union greatly 
depended. Standing as he did, the sole representative of 
that territory, his greatest ambition was to prove himself 
faithful to his trust, by cherishing its interests, and no- 
thing could have been more suicidal or pernicious to 
those he represented, than for him to exasperate either 
party by becoming a violent partisan, without the power 
of aiding either party, because he had no vote on any po- 
litical question. This was his position, and although he 
had his political principles as firmly fixed as those of the 
gentleman from Virginia, it was no business of his to 



124 SKETCHES OF 

Strike where he could not be felt, and where the blow 
must recoil upon himself and those whom iie represent- 
ed. He wore no cockade, black or tri-colored, at that 
day — and never wore one but when he was in the mili- 
tary service of his country. But he was seriously charg- 
ed with the heinous ofleiice of associating with federal 
gentlemen. He plead guilty — he respected the revola- 
tionary services of president Adams, and had paid him 
that courtesy which was due to him as a man and as 
chief magistrate. He also associated with such men as 
John iMarshall and James A. Bayard — was the acknow- 
ledgment of such guilt to throw him out of the pale of 
political salvation 1 

" On the other hand, he was on intimate terms with Mr. 
Jefferson, Mr. Gallatin, and with the whole Virginia del 
egation, among whom he had many kinsmen and dear 
friends. They were his principal associates in Philadel- 
phia, in whose mess he had often met the gentleman who 
was now his accuser, and with whom he had spent some 
of the happiest hours of his life. It was true, as the sena- 
tor alledged, he had been appointed governor of the north- 
western territory by John Adams — so had he been by 
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. He was not in 
congress when the standing army was created, and the 
alien and sedition laws were passed, and if he had been 
he could not have voted for them, and would not if he 
could. It was not in his nature to be a violent or pre- 
scriptive partizan, but he had given a firm support to 
the republican administrations of Jefferson, Madison and 
Monroe. He hoped the senator from Virginia was an- 
swered — he was sure the senate must be wearied with 
this frivolous and unprofitable squabble." 

In the latter part of the year 1828, president Adams 
appointed general Harrison minister plenipotentiary to 
the republic of Colombia. He reached Marycabo in 
December, and from thence proceeded to Bogota. Im- 
mediately after the inauguration of president Jackson, i-n 
1829, he recalled general Harrison, and appointed Mr. 
Thomas Moore, of Kentucky, in his place. 

While in Colombia, the proposition was entertained 
by one of the political parties, of putting aside the con- 



GENERAL HARRISON. 125 

stitution, and raisingr Bolivar to a dictatorship. During 
the agitation of this question, general Harrison, as the 
personal friend of Bolivar, and not in his official capa- 
city, addressed him a letter on the subject of this change 
of government. This document, which has been exten- 
sively circulated and greatly admired in the United 
States, is written with great force and elegance of dic- 
tion, and breathes the pure spirit of republican liberty. 
We have only room to cite the concluding paragraphs of 
this masterly production : 

" In relation to the effect which this investment of 
power is to have upon your happiness and your fame, 
will the pomp and glitter of a court, and the flattery of 
venal courtiers, reward you for the troubles and anxieties 
attendant upon the exercise of sovereignty, everywhere, 
and those which will flow from your peculiar situation 1 
Or power, supported by the bayonet, for that willing 
homage which you were wont to receive from your fel- 
low-citizens 1 The groans of a dissatisfied and oppress- 
ed people will penetrate the inmost recesses of your pal- 
ace, and you will be tortured by the reflection, that you 
no longer possess that place in their affections, which 
was once your pride and your boast, and which would 
have been your solace under every reverse of fortune. 
Unsupported by the people, your authority can be main- 
tained only, by the terrors of the sword and the scaffold. 
And have these ever been successful under similar cir- 
cumstances 1 Blood may smother, for a period, but can 
never extinguish the fire of liberty, which you have con- 
tributed so much to kindle in the bosom of every Co- 
lombian. 

" 1 will not urge, as an argument, the personal dangers 
to which you will be exposed. But I will ask, if you 
could enjoy life, which would be preserved by the con- 
stant execution of so many human beings — your country- 
men, your former friends, and almost your worshipers ? 
The pangs of such a situation will be made more acute, 
by reflecting on the hallowed motive of many of those 
who would aim their daggers at your bosom. That, like 
the last of the Romans, they would strike, not from ha- 
tred to the man, but love to the country. 

l2 



126 SKETCHES OF 

"From a knowledge of your own disposition, and pres- 
ent feelings, your excellency will not be willing to 
believe, that you could ever be brought to commit an act 
of tyraimy, or even to execute justice with unnecessary 
rigor. But trust me, sir, thai there is nothing more cor- 
rupting, nothincT more destructive of the noblest and 
finest feelings of our nature, than the exercise of unlim- 
ited power. The man who, in the beginning of such a 
career, might shudder at the idea of taking away the 
life of a ^-llnw-being, might soon have his conscience 
so seared by the repetition of crime, that the agonies 
of his murdered victims might become music to his 
soul, and the drippings ot his scaffold afford "blood 
enough to swim in."^ History is full of such exam- 
ples. 

*' From this disgusting picture, permit me to call the at- 
tention of your excellency to one of a different character. 
It exhibits you as the constitutional chief magistrate of 
a free people. Giving to their representatives the influ- 
ence of your great name and talents, to reform the abuses 
which, in a long reign of tyranny and misrule, have fas- 
tened upon every branch of the administration. The 
army, and its swarm of officers, reduced within the lim- 
its of real usefulness, placed on the frontiers, and no 
longer permitted to control public opinion, and be the 
terror of the peaceful citizen. By the removal of this 
incubus from the treasury, and the establishment of order, 
responsibility, and economy, in the expenditures of the 
government, it would soon be enabled to dispense with 
the odious monopolies, and the duty of the Jlcavala, 
which have operated with so malign an effect upon com- 
merce and aL^riculture; and, indeed, upon the revetmes 
which they were intended to augment. No longer op- 
pressed by these shackles, industry would everywhere re- 
vive : the farmer and the artizan, cheered by the prospect 
of ample reward for their labor, would redouble their ex- 
ertions : foreicrners,with their capital and skill in the arts, 
would crowd hither, to enjoy the advantaties which could 
scarcely elsewhere be found : and Colombia would soon 
exhibit the reality of the beautiful fiction of Fenelon — 
Salentum rising from misery and oppression, to prosper- 



GENERAL HARRISON. 127 

ky and happiness, under the councils and direction of 
the concealed goddess. 

"What objections can be urged against this course? 
Can any one, acquainted with the circumstances of the 
country, doubt its success, in restoring and maintaining 
tranquillity? The people would certainly not revolt 
against themselves; and none of the chiefs who are sup- 
posed to be factiously inclined, would think of opposing 
the strength of the nation, when directed by your talents 
and authority. But it is said, that the want of intelli- 
gence amongst the people unfits them for the govern- 
ment. Is it not right, however, that the experiment 
should be fairly tried? I have already said, that this 
has not been done. For myself, I do not hesitate to de- 
clare my firm belief, that it will succeed. The people 
of Colombia possess many traits of character, suitable 
for a republican government. A more orderly, forbear- 
ing, and well-disposed people are nowhere to be met with. 
Indeed, it may safely be asserted, that their faults and 
vices are attributable to the cursed governmv3nt to which 
they have been so long subjected, and to the intolerant 
character of the religion, whilst their virtues are all their 
own. But admitting their present want of intelligence, 
no one has ever doubted their capacity to acquire knowl- 
edge, and under the strong motives which exist, to obtain 
it, supported by the influence of your excellency, it 
would soon be obtained. 

"To yourself, the advantage would be as great as to 
the country; like acts of mercy, the blessings would be 
reciprocal; your personal happiness secured, and your 
fame elevated to a height which would leave but a sin- 
gle competition in the estimation of posterity. In be- 
stowing the palm of merit, the world has become wiser 
than formerly. The successful warrior is no longer 
regarded as entitled to the first place in the temple of 
fame. Talents of this kind have become too common, 
and too often used for mischievous purposes, to be re- 
garded as they once w-ere. In this enlightened age, the 
mere hero of the field, and the successful leader of ar- 
mies, may, for the moment, attract attention. But it will 
be such as is bestowed upon the passing meteor, whose 



128 SKETCHES OF 

blaze is no longer remembered, when it is no longer 
seen. To be esteemed eminently great, it is necessary 
to be eminently good. The qualities of the hero and the 
general must be devoted to the advantage of mankind, 
before he will be permitted to assume the title of their 
benefactor; and the station which he will hold in their 
regard and affections will depend, not upon the number 
and the splendor of his victories; but upon the results 
and the use he may make of the influence he acquires 
from them. 

" If the fame of our Washington depended upon his 
military achievements, would the common consent of the 
world allow him the pre-eminence he possesses? The 
victories at Trenton, Monmouth, and York, brilliant as 
they were — exhibiting, as they certainly did, the highest 
grade of military talents, are scarcely thought of. The 
source of the veneration and esteem which is entertained 
for his character, by every description of politicians — the 
monarchist and aristocrat, as well as the republican, is 
to be found in his undeviatinw and exclusive devotedness 
to the interest of his country. No selfish consideration 
was ever suffered to intrude itself into his mind. For 
his country he conquered ; and the unrivalled and in- 
creasing prosperity of that country is constantly adding 
fresh glory to his name. General ; the course which he 
pursued is open to you, and it depends upon yourself to 
attain the eminence which he has reached before you. 

" To the eyes of military men, the laurels you won on 
the fields of Vargas, Bayaca, and Carebobo, will be for- 
ever green ; but will that content you ? Are you willing 
that your name should descend to posterity, amongst the 
mass of those whose fame has been derived from shed- 
ding human blood, without a single advantage to the hu- 
man race 1 Or, shall it be united to that of Washing- 
ton, as the founder and the father of a great and happy 
people 1 The choice is before you. The friends of lib- 
erty throughout the world, and the people of the United 
States in particular, are waitinji your decision with in- 
tense anxiety. Alexander toiled and conquered to attain 
the applause of the Athenians ; will you regard as noth- 
ing the opinions of a nation which has evinced its supe- 



GENERAL HARRISON. 129 

riority over that celebrated people, in the science most 
useful to man, by havincr carried into actual practice a 
system of government, of which the wisest Athenians had 
but a glimpse in theory, and considered as a blessing 
never to be realized, however ardently to be desired? 
The place which you are to occupy in their esteem de- 
pends upon yourself." 

It has been stated that general Harrison was recalled 
from Colombia in consequence of his interference in the 
internal affairs of the republic. This is not the fact. He 
reached Bogota on the 5tii of February, 1829. Presi- 
dent Jackson was inaugurated on the 4th of March of 
that year, and Mr. Moore was appointed to this office on 
the 8th. It is therefore impossible that the president 
could even have known of general Harrison's arrival at 
the seat of government, when he was recalled. Mr. 
Moore reached Bogota in September, and on the 26th of 
that month, general Harrison had his audience of leave. 
On that occasion, the president of the council said to 
him : " In expressing to you, sir, the sentiments of the 
council towards your government, it is agreeable to me 
to declare, that the hopes formed by Colombia, when the 
appointment was announced of so distinguished a gen- 
eral, and one of the most eminent citizens of the oldest 
republic of America, have been realized by your resi- 
dence in this capital, as envoy extraordinary, and minis- 
ter plenipotentiary near this government; and, therefore, 
it is highly satisfactory to me, to show the high esteem 
which your personal qualities have inspired." At the 
time when this address was made, Bolivar was absent 
from Bogota, and the president of the council was ad- 
ministering the affairs of the government. His address 
to general Harrison, the concluding paragraphs of which 
have been quoted, clearly demonstrates that our minister 
had discharged the duties of his station with dignity, 
prudence and ability. 
6* 



130 SKETCHES OF 



CHAPTER XI. 

Colonel Johnson's speech in Congress. — General Harrison'^ 
Cheviot address. — His address in 183*2, in regard to slavery. 
— Vincennes speech about Abolition. — His speech at the 
47th anniversary celebration of the settlement of Ohio. — His- 
torical discourse on the aborigines of the Oliio. 

After creneral Harrison's return from Colombia, he 
retired to liis farm and resumed the peaceful pursuits of 
agriculture. In June, 18.31, he was chosen to deliver the 
annual discourse before the Hamilton county Ajjricultu- 
ral Society. In this address, he frave evidence of being 
a sound practical farmer, combininor theory and practice, 
in regard to crops and herds, with the same ready sue* 
cess, that in other days he had applied military princi- 
ples to the movement of armies. A single extract from 
this valuable discourse, is all that our limits v^^ill per- 
mit: 

"The encouragement of agriculture, gentlemen, would 
be praiseworthy in any country : in our own it is pecu- 
liarly so. Not only to multiply the means and enj.oy- 
ment of life, but as giving greater stability and securi- 
ty to our political institutions. In all ages and in all 
countries, it has been observed, that the cultivators of 
the soil, are those who were least willing to part with 
their rights, and submit themselves to the will of a mas- 
ter. I have no doubt also, that a taste for agricultural 
pursuits, is the best means of disciplininor the ambition 
of those daring spirits, who occasionally spring up in 
the world, for good or for evil, to defend or destroy the 
liberties of their fellow-men, as the principles received 
from education or circumstances may tend. As long as 
the leaders of the Roman armies were taken from the 
plough, to the plouuh they were willing to return. Never 
in the character of general, forgetting the duties of the 
citizen, and ever ready to exchange the sword and the 
triumphal purple, fur the homely vestments of the hus- 
bandman. 



/ 



GENERAL HARRISON. 131 

" The history of this far-famed republic is full of instan- 
ces of this kind ; but none more remarkable than our 
own afje and country have produced. The fascinations 
of power and the trappings of command, were as much 
despised, and the enjoyment of rural scenes, and rural 
employments as highly prized by our Washington, as 
by Cincinnatus or Regulus. At the close of his glori- 
ous military career, he says, '1 am preparing to return to 
that domestic retirement which it is well known I left 
with the deepest regret, and for which I have not ceased 
to sigh through a long and painful absence.' 

" Your efforts, gentlemen, to diffuse a taste for agricul- 
ture amongst men of all descriptions and professions, 
may produce results more important even than increas- 
ing the means of subsistence, and the enjoyment of life. 
It may cause some future conqueror for his country, to 
end his career 

" Guiltless of his country^ s blood." 

^ ^ ^ "TF 'ff -tP tF 

"To the heart-cheering prospect of flocks and herds 
feeding on unrivalled pastures, fields of grain, exhibiting 
the scriptural proof that the seed had been cast on good 
ground — how often is the eye of the philanthropic travel- 
er disgusted with the dark, unsightly manufactories of 
a certain poison — poison to the body and the soul. A 
modern ^Eneas or Ulysses miijht mistake them for en- 
trances into the Infernal Regions; nor would they great- 
ly err. But unlike those passages which conducted the 
Grecian and Trojan heroes on their pious errands, the 
scenes to which these conduct the unhappy wretch who 
shall enter are those, exclusively, of misery and woe. 
No relief to the sad picture; no Tartarus there, no Ely- 
sium here. It is all Tartarian darkness, and, not un- 
frequently, Tartarian crime. I speak more freely of the 
practice of converting the material of the ' staff of life' 
(and by which so many human beings yearly perish) 
into an article which is so destructive of health and hap- 
piness, because in that way I have sinned myself; but 
in that way I shall sin no more."'* * 

* Some years since, general Harrison established a distillery 



133 SKETCHES OF 

In 1831, pending an application in conjrress for the 
settlement ot" the accounts of J. Sj'mmes Harrison, late 
Receiver of public monies at Vincennes, colonel Richard 
M. Johnson, now vice-president of the United States, in 
alluding- to the father of the late Receiver, spontaneously 
bore the following well merited tribute to his old com- 
mander : 

" Who is general Harrison? The son of one of the 
signers of the declaration of independence, who spent 
the greater part of his large fortune in redeeming the 
pledge he then gave, of his 'fortune, life and sacred hon- 
or,' to secure the liberties of his country. 

"Of the career of general Harrison I need not speak — 
the history of the west, is his history. For forty years 
'he has been identified with its interests, its perils and its 
hopes. Universally beloved in the walks of peace, and 
distinguished by his ability in the councils of his coun- 
try, he has been yet more illustriously distinguished in 
the field. 

" During the late war, he was longer in active service 
than any other general officer ; he was, perhaps, oftener 
in action than any one of them, and never sustained a 
defeat." 

In 1833, general Harrison delivered, by appointment, 
at Cheviot, Hamilton county, Ohio, an address in com- 
memoration of the 4th of luly, which was subsequently 
published by the committee of arrangements. It pre- 
sents a summary of the causes which led to the revolu- 
tionary war, and a lucid exposition of the constitution of 
the United States. His interpretation of that instrument 
is in strict accordance with the celebrated resolutions of 
Virginia and Kentucky, of 1798. 

Being desirous of making a fair representation of the 
views of general Harrison, on all important public mat- 
ters, we now introduce two documents touching his opin- 

on his farm, to convert his surplus corn into whiskey. Soon 
perceiving the bad consequences of such a manufactory, upon 
the surrounding population, he cheerfully encountered pecunia- 
ry sacrifice by abolisliing his manufactory of that baneful ar- 
ticle. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 133 

ions on the subject of slavery. In the year 1822, when 
he was a candidate for congrress, his opponents, for the 
purpose of defeatinir' his election, charged him with be- 
ing a pro-slavery man-— that he had owned slaves, and 
had been in favor of introducing slavery into Indiana. 
In refutation of tliis sweeping charge, general Harrison 
published an address, from which we take all of that por- 
tion relating to the subject of slavery. It is in these 
words : 

" Being called suddenly home to attend my sick fam- 
ily, I have but a moment to answer a few of the calum- 
nies which are in circulation concerning me. 

"I am accused of being friendly to slavery. From 
my earliest youth to the present moment, I have been 
the ardent friend of Human Liberty. At the age of eigh- 
teen, I became a member of an Abolition Society establish- 
ed at Richmond, Virginia ; the object of which was to 
ameliorate the condition of slaves and procure their free- 
dom by every legal means. My venerable friend, Judge 
Gatch, of Clermont county, was also a member of this 
society, and has lately given me a certificate that I was 
one. The obligations which I then came under I have 
faithfully performed. I have been the means of liberating 
many slaves, but never placed one in bondage. I deny 
that my vote in congress in relation to Missouri and 
Arkansas, are in the least incompatible with these prin- 
ciples. Congress had no more legal or constitutional 
right to emancipate the negroes in those sections of Lou- 
isiana without the consent of their owners, than they 
have to free those of Kentucky. These people were 
secured in their property by a solemn covenant with 
France when the country was purchased from that pow- 
er. To prohibit the emigration of citizens of the south- 
ern states to the part of the country, the situation and 
climate of which, was peculiarly suited to them, would 
have been highly unjust, as it had been purchased out of 
the common fund. Particularly, too, when it is recollect- 
ed that all the immense territory to the north-west of the 
Ohio had been ce<!ed by Virginia, and with an unexampled 
liberality, she had herself proposed, that by excluding 
slavery from it, to secure it for the emigration of those 

M 



134 SKETCHES OF 

States which had no slaves. Was it proper, then, when 
her reserved territory was in a great measure filled up, 
to exclude her citizens from every part of the territory pur- 
chased out of the common fund ? I was the first person to 
introduce into cojiirress the proposition that all the country 
above Missouri (which having no inhahitants was free from 
the objection made to Missouri and Arkansas) sliould ne- 
ver have slavery adniitttd into it. I repeat what I have be- 
fore said, that as our union was only ejected by mutual 
concession, so only can it be preserved. 

*' My vote against the restriction of Missouri in form- 
ing her constitution was not a conclusive one ; there 
would have been time enouuh, had I continued to he a 
member, before the question was decided, for my consti- 
tuents to have instructed me, and I should have rejoiced 
in an opportunity of sacrificing my seat to my principles, 
if they had instructed me in opj)osition to my construc- 
tion of the constitution. Like many other members from 
the non-slaveholding states, of whom I mention Shaw, 
Holmes, Mason of Massachusetts, Laman of Connec- 
ticut, and Baldwin of Pennsylvania, I could see nothing 
in the constitution which I had sworn to .support, to 
warrant such an interference with the rights of the 
states, and which had never before been attempted. 
And where is the crime in one set of men not being 
able to interpret the constitution as other men interpret 
it 1 As we had all sworn to support it, the crime 
would have been in giving it a construction which our 
consciences would not sanction. And let me ask, for 
what good is this question again brought up] It has 
been settled, as all our family differences have been set- 
tled, on the firm basis of mutual compromise. And pat- 
riotism, as well as prudence, devoted the effects of that 
awful discussion to eternal oblivion. Is it not known, 
that from that cause the great fabric of our Union was 
shaken to its foundation 1 Is it not known that Missou- 
ri would not have submitted to the restriction, and that 
the other slave-holding states had determined to support 
her] But for this compromise, the probability is, that 
at this moment we might look upon the opposite shore 
of Ohio, not for an affectionate sister state, but ou an 



GENERAL HARRISON. 135 

armed and implacable rival. What patriotic man would 
not join the g-allant Eaton in execrating the head and the 
hand that could devise and execute a scheme productive 
of a calamity so awful 1 

" Upon the whole, fellow-citizens, our path is a plain 
one ; it is that marked out as well by humanity as duty. 
We cannot emancipate the slaves of the other states 
without their consent, but by producing a convulsion 
which would undo us all. For this much to be desired 
event, we must wait the slow but certain progress of 
those good principles whicli are every where gaining 
ground, and which assuredly will ultimately prevail." 

It is proper to remark, that this society, originally 
established by the Quakers, but not confined to them, 
was, according to the statement of Judge Gatch, a " Hu- 
mane Society ;" and it seems to have been of a character 
to which no exceptions were taken in Virginia. A num- 
ber of the citizens of Richmond were members, and its 
principles were not understood to be at all in conflict 
with the rights guarantied to the owners of slaves, by 
the constitution and the laws of the land. Within a 
few months after his first connection with this society, 
general Harrison, then but eighteen years of age, re- 
moved from Virginia, since which time he has never at- 
tended one of its meetings, nor been either directly or 
indirectly connected with any society touching the ques- 
tion of slavery. 

The other document upon this subject, is taken from a 
speech made by general Harrison, at Vincennes, Indiana, 
in May, 1835, on the occasion of a public dinner having 
been given to him by the citizens of that place. 

" I have now, fellow-citizens, a few more words to 
say on another subject, and which is, in my opinion, of 
more importance than any other that is now in the course 
of discussion in any part of the Union. I allude to the 
societies which have been formed, and the movements 
of certain individuals in some of the states in relation to 
a portion of the population in others. The conduct of 
these persons is the more dangerous, because their object 
is masked under the garb of disinterestedness and bene- 
volence ; and their course vindicated by arguments and 



136 SKETCHES OF 

propositions which, in the abstract, no one can deny. 
But, however fascinating may be the dress with which 
their schemes are presented to their fellow-citizens, with 
whatever purity of intention they may have been formed 
and sustained, they will be found to carry in their train 
mischief to the whole Union, and horrors to a large por- 
tion of it, which, it is probable, some of the projectors 
and many of their supportt^rs have never thought of; the 
latter, the first in the series of evils which are to spring 
from their source, are such as you have seen perpetrated 
on the fair plains of Italy and Gaul, by the Scythian 
hordes of Attila and Alaric; and such as most of you 
apprehended upon that memorable night, when the toma- 
hawks and war clubs of the followers of Tecunithe were 
rattling in your suburbs. 1 regard not the disavowals 
of any such intention upon the part of the authors of 
these schemes, since, upon the examination of the publi- 
cations which have been made, they will be found to con- 
tain the very facts, and very arguments which they would 
have used, if such had been their object. I am certain 
that there is not, in this assembly, one of these deluded 
men, and that there are few within the bounds of the 
state. If there are any, I would earnestly entreat them 
to forbear; to pause in their career, and deliberately con- 
sider the consequence of their conduct to the whole 
Union, to the states more immediately interested, and to 
those for whose benefit they profess to act. That the 
latter will be the victims of the weak, injudicious, pre- 
sumptuous and unconstitutional efforts to serve them, a 
thorough examination of the subject must convince them. 
The struggle (and struggle there must be) may com- 
mence with horrors such as I have described, but it will 
end with more firmly riveting the chains, or in the utter 
extirpation of those whose cause they advocate. 

"Am I wrong, fellow-citizens, in applying the terms 
weak, presumptuous and unconstitutional, to the mea- 
sures of the emancipators'? A slight examination will, 
I think, show that I am not. In a vindication of the 
objects of a convention which was lately held in one of 
the towns of Ohio, which I saw in a newspaper, it was 
said that nothing more was intended than to produce a 



GENERAL HARRISON. 137 

State of public feeling which would lead to an amend- 
ment of the constitution, authorizing the abolition of 
slavery in the United States. Now can an amendment 
of the constitution be effected without the consent of 
the southern States 1 What then is the proposition to 
be submitted to them ? It is this: — 'The present pro- 
visions of the constitution secure to you the right (a 
right which you held before it was made, which you 
have never given up,) to manage your domestic concerns 
in your own way ; but as we are convinced that you do 
not manage them properly, we want you to put in the 
hands of the general government, in the councils of 
which we have the majority, the control over these mat- 
ters, the effect of which will be virtually to transfer the 
power from yours into our hands.' Again, in some of 
the states, and in sections of others, the black popula- 
tion far exceeds that of the white. Some of the emanci- 
pators propose immediate abolition. What is the pro- 
position then, as it regards the states and parts of states, 
but the alternatives of amalgamation with the blacks, or 
an exchange of situations with them 1 Is there any 
man of common sense who does not believe that the 
emancipated blacks, being a majority, will not insist up- 
on a full participation of political rights with the whites ; 
and when possessed of these, they will not contend for a 
full share of social rights also] What but the extremity 
of weakness and folly could induce any one to think, 
that such propositions as these could be listened to by a 
people so intelligent as the southern states ? Further; 
the emancipators generally declare that it is their inten- 
tion to effect their object (although their acts contradict 
their assertion,) by no oth.?r means than by convincing 
the slave-holders that the emancipation of the slaves is 
called for, both by moral obligation and sound policy. 
An unfledged youth, at the moment of his leaving 
(indeed, in many instances, before he has left it,) his 
theological seminary, undertakes to give lectures up- 
on morals to the countrymen of Wythe, Tucker, Pen- 
dleton and Lowndes, and lessons of political wisdom to 
states, whose affairs have so recently been directed by 
Jefferson and Madison, Macon and Crawford. Is it 

M 2 



138 SKETCHES OF 

possible, that instances of greater vanity and presump- 
tion could be exhibited ? But the course pursued by the 
emancipators is unconstitutional. I do not say that there 
are any words in the constitution which forbid the dis- 
cussions they are engaored in ; I know that there are not. 
And citizens have the ritrht to express and publish their 
opinions without restriction. But in the construction of 
the constitution, it is always necessary to refer to the 
circumstances under which it was framed, and to ascer- 
tain its meaning by a comparison of its provisions with 
each other, and with the previous situation of the several 
states who were parties to it. In a portion of these, sla- 
very was recognized, and they took care to have the 
right secured to them ; to follow and reclaim such of 
them as were fugitives to other states. The laws of con- 
gress passed under this power, have provided punishment 
for any one who shall oppose or interrupt the exercise 
of this right. Now can any one believe, that the instru- 
ment which contains a provision of this kind, which au- 
thorizes a master to pursue his slave into another state, 
take him back, and provides a punishment for any citi- 
zen or citizens of that state who should oppose him, 
should, at the same time, authorize the latter to assemble 
together, to pass resolutions and adopt addresses, not only 
to encourage the slaves to leave their masters, but to cut 
their throats before they do so 1 

" I insist, that if the citizens of the non-slaveholding 
states can avail themselves of the article of the constitu- 
tion, which prohibits the restriction of speech or the press 
to publish anything injurious to the rights of the slave- 
holding states, that tliey can go to the extreme that I 
have mentioned, and effect any thinij further which wri- 
ting or speaking could effect. But, fellow-ciiizens, these 
are not the principles of the constitution. Such a con- 
struction would defeat one of the jrreat objects of its for- 
mation, v.?hich was that of securing the peace and harmony 
of the states which w-ere parties to it. The liberty of 
speech and of the press, were given as the most effectual 
means to preserve to each and every citizen their own 
rights, and to the states the rights which appertained 
to them, at the time of their adoption. It could never 



GENERAL HARRISON. 139 

have been expected that it would be used by the citizens 
of one portion of the states for the purpose of depriving 
those of another portion, of the rights which they had 
reserved at the adoption of the constitution, and in the 
exercise of which, none but themselves have any con- 
cern or interest. If slavery is an evil, the evil is with 
them. If there is guilt in it, the guilt is theirs, not ours, 
since neither the states where it does not exist, nor the 
government of the United States can, without usurpation 
of power, and the violation of a solemn compact, do any- 
thing to remove it without the consent of those who are 
immediately interested. But they will neither ask for 
aid nor consent to be aided, whilst the illegal, persecuting 
and dangerous movements are in progress, of which I 
complain : the interest of all concerned requires that 
these should be stopped immediately. This can only be 
done by the force of public opinion, and that cannot too 
soon be brought into operation. Every movement which 
is made by the abolitionists in the non-slaveholding states, 
is viewed by our southern brethren as an attack upon 
their rights, and which, if persisted in, must in the end 
eradicate those feelings of attachment and affection be- 
tween the citizens of all the states, which was produced 
by a community of interests and dangers in the war of the 
revolution, which was the foundation of our happy union, 
and by a continuance of which, it can alone be preserved. 
I entreat you, then, to frown upon the measures which 
are to produce results so much to be deprecated. The 
opinions which I have now given, I have omitted no op- 
portunity for the last two years to lay before the people of 
my own state. I have taken the liberty to express them 
here, knowing that even if they should unfortunately not 
accord with yours, they would be kindly received," 

The attempt has been made to show that these two 
documents are inconsistent with each other. A careful 
comparison of them, however, must bring the candid en- 
quirer for truth, to a different conclusion. On this, as 
well as upon all other questions upon which general 
Harrison has been called to act or express himself, there 
is an exhibition of the same consistency of opinion and 
character which has marked the whole of his eventful life. 



140 SKETCHES OF 

In 1835, at tlie celebration of the 47lh anniversary 
of the settlement of Ohio, helJ in Cincinnati, general 
Harrison was among the invited guests; and in reply to 
some complimentary toast, offered by the committee of 
arrangement, rcferriiiii to general Wayne and himself, 
general Harrison took occasion to speak of the claims of 
the subordinate officers, non-commissioned officers and 
privates of the regular army in the west, under Harmer, 
St. Clair and Wayne, who broujiht the war of the revo- 
lution to a close hy the victory of the Miami of the Lake. 
In this address, the claims of these soldiers were present- 
ed in a strong, touching and beautiful manner. From 
the many admirable sentiments contained in this speech, 
we cannot forbear quoting the following : " No more 
fatal idea can be entertained than that our republic is to 
be preserved, either by the wealtli of our citizens or the 
amount of the revenue of the government. The britrht- 
est eras of the repuhlics which have existed, were those 
■when honorable poverty prevailed, and wlien patriotism 
"was best rewarded." 

In the autumn of 1837, general Harrison delivered a 
discourse before the Philosophical and Historical Society 
of Ohio, on the aborigines of the Ohio, which has since 
been published in the first volume of the Transactions of 
that body. It embraces about fifty pages of the work, 
and is among the most valuable contributions which 
have yet been made to that society. 'I'his discourse, 
written with classic elegance, in pure Saxon, is insrenious 
and profound, presenting the results of much close and 
accurate observation upon the ancient works and aborigi- 
nes of the valley of the Ohio. Having space but for a 
sincrle extract, we take the following, on the reproduction 
of i\\e forest upon the banks of the Ohio, after it has once 
been destroyed. The subject is introduced by the author 
to prove the great antiquity of the ancient mounds and 
fortifications of this region. 

" The process by which nature restores the forest to its 
original state, after being once cleared, is extremely slow. 
In our rich lands, it is, indeed, soon covered again with 
limber, but the character of the growth is entirely differ- 
ent, and continues so, through many generations of men. 



i 



GENERAL HARRISON. 141 

In several places on the Ohio, particularly upon the 
farm which I occupy, clearings were made in the first 
settlement, abandoned, and suffered to grow up. Some 
of them, now to be seen, of nearly fifty years' growth, 
have made so little progress towards attaining the ap- 
pearance of the immediately contiguous forest, as to in- 
duce any man of reflection, to determine, that at least ten 
times fifty years would be necessary before its complete 
assimilation could be effected. The sites of the ancient 
works on the Ohio, present precisely the same appearance 
as the circumjacent forest. You find on them, all that 
beautiful variety of trees, which gives such unrivalled 
richness to our forests. This is particularly the case on 
the fifteen acres included within the walls of the work 
at the mouih of the Great Miami, and the relative pro- 
portions of the different kinds of timber, are about the 
same. The first orrnwth on the same kind of land, once 
cleared, and then abandoned to nature, on the contrary, 
is more homogeneous — often stinted to one, or two, or at 
most three kinds of timber. If the ground had been cul- 
tivated, yellow locust, in many places, will spring up as 
thick as garden peas. If it has not been cultivated, the 
black and white walnut will be the prevailing growth. 
The rapidity with which these trees grow for a time, 
smothers the attempt of other kinds to vegetate and grow 
in their shade. The more thrifty individuals soon over- 
top the weaker of their own kind, which sicken and die. 
In this vvay, there is soon only as many left as the earth 
will well support to maturity. All this time the squir- 
rels may plant the seed of those trees which serve them 
for food, and by neglect suffer them to remain, — it will 
be in vain ; the birds may drop the kernels, the ex- 
ternal pulp of which have contributed to their nourish- 
ment, and divested of which they are in the best state for 
germinating, still it will be of no avail; the winds of 
heaven way waft the winged seeds of the sycamore, cot- 
ton-wood and maple, and a friendly shower may bury 
them to the necessary depth in tlie loose and fertile soil — 
but still without success. The roots below rob them 
of moisture, and the canopy of limbs and leaves above 
intercept the rays of the sun, and the dews of heaven : the 



142 SKETCHES OF 

young giants in possession, like another kind of aristoc- 
racy, absorb the whole means of subsistence, and leave 
the mass to perish at their feet. This slate of things 
will not, however, always continue. If the process of 
nature is slow and circuitous, in putting down usurpa- 
tion and establishing the equality which she loves, and 
which is the great characteristic of her principles, it is 
sure and effecutal. The preference of the soil for the 
first growth, ceases with its maturity. It admits of no suc- 
cession, upon the principles of legitimacy. The long un- 
disputed masters of the forest may be thinned by the 
lightning, the tempest, or by diseases peculiar to them- 
selves ; and whenever this is the case, oue of the oft-re- 
jected of another family, will find between its decaying 
roots, shelter and appropriate food ; and, sprin-ging into 
vigorous growth, will soon push its green foliage to the 
skies, through the decayed and withering limbs of its 
blasted and dying adversary — the soil itself, yielding it a 
more liberal support than any scion from the former oc- 
cupant. It will easily be conceived what a length of 
time it will require for a denuded tract of land, by a pro- 
cess so slow, again to clothe itself with the amazing va- 
riety of foliage which is the characteristic of the forests 
of this region. Of what immense age, then, must be 
those works, so often referred to, covered, as has been 
supposed by those who have the best opportunity of ex- 
amining them, with the second growth after the ancient 
forest slate had been regained?''^ 



CHAPTER XII. 

General Harrison's first nomination for the presidency. — His 
letter to Sherrod Williams. — His opinions upon duelling. — 
His letter to Harmer Denny, on the principles upon which 
the government should be administered. — Second nomination 
for the presidency, December, 1839. 

In the autumn of this year, by a spontaneous move- 
ment of the people, in different parts of the Union, gene- 



i 






GENERAL HARRISON. 143 

ral Harrison was nominated as a candidate for the presi- 
dency. The late period in the canvass, at which this 
movement was made, prevented that concentration of ac- 
tion among his friends, necessary to secure his election ; 
but, under this disadvantage, and with their other candi- 
dates in the field, he received seventy-two electoral votes. 
In the fifteen states in which Mr. Van Buren and general 
Harrison were alone opposed to each other, the former 
received five hundred and eighty thousand, and the latter 
five hundred and fifty-two thousand votes, being a ma- 
jority of less than thirty thousand for Mr. Van Buren, 
This fact evinces — all circumstances considered — the re- 
markable popularity of general Harrison with the people 
of the United States. 

During this canvass, Sherrod Williams, Esq. a mem- 
ber of congress from Kentucky, addressed a letter of en- 
quiry to general Harrison, on certain political matters, 
which drew forth the following reply ; 

North Bend, May 1, 1836 

Sir; — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
your letter of the 7th ultimo, in which you request me to 
answer the following questions : 

1st. " Will you, if elected president of the United 
States, sign and approve a bill distributing the surplus 
revenue of the United States, to each state according to 
the federal population of each, for internal improvement, 
education, and to such other objects as the legislature of 
the several states may see fit to apply the same V 

2nd. " Will you sign and approve a bill distributing 
the proceeds of the sales of the public lands to each 
state, according to the federal population of each, for the 
purposes above specified 1" 

3d. " Will you sign and approve bills making appropri- 
ations to improve navigable streams above ports ofentry]" 

4th. " Will you sign and approve (if it becomes ne- 
cessary to secure and save from depreciation the revenue 
and finances of the nation, and to afford a uniform sound 
currency to the people of the United States) a bill, with 
proper modifications and restrictions, chartering a bank 
of the United States?" 



144 SKETCHES OF 

5th, " What is your opinion as to the constitutional 
power of the senate or house of representatives of the 
congress of the United States, to expunge or obliterate 
from the journals the records and proceeciings of a previ- 
ous session 1" 

From the manner in which the four first questions are 
stated, it appears that you do not ask my opinion as to 
the policy cjr propritMy of the measures to which they 
respectively refer; but what would he my course, if they 
were presented to me (beirijr in tiic presidential chair of 
the United States) in the shape of bills, that had been 
duly passed by the senate and house of representatives. 

From the opinions which I have formed of the inten- 
tion of the constitution, as to cases in which the veto 
power should be exercised by the president, I would 
have contented myself with fj^ivino- an afTirmative answer 
to the four first (juestions ; i)ut, from the deep interest 
which has been and indeed is now felt in relation to all 
the subjects, I think it proper to express my views upon 
each one separately. 

I answer, then, 1st. That the immediate return of all 
the surplus money which is, or ought to be, in the trea- 
sury of the United States, to the possession of the people 
from whom it was taken, is called for by every principle 
of policy and, indeed, of safety to our institutions ; and 
I know of no mode of doinor it better than tliat recom- 
mended by the present chief magistrate, in his first an- 
nual message to congress, in the following words : " To 
avoid these evils it appears to me that the most safe, just and 
federal di.sposilion which could be made of the surplus reve- 
nue, would be its apportionment among the several states 
according; to the ratio of representation. 

This proposition has reference to a state of things 
which now actually exists, with the exception of the 
amount of money thus to be disposed of; for it could not 
have been anticipated by the president that the surplus 
above the real wants or convenient expenditures of the 
government would become so large, as that retaining it 
in the treasury would so much diminish the circulating 
medium as greatly to embarrass the business of the 
country. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 145 

What other disposition can be made of it with a view 
to get it into immediate circulation, but to place it in the 
hands of the state authorities'? So great is the amount, 
and so rapidly is it increasing, that it could not be ex- 
pended for a very considerable time on the comparatively 
few objects to which it could be appropriated by the gen- 
eral government; but the desired distribution amongst 
the people could be immediately effected by the state, 
from the infinite variety of ways in which it nnight be 
employed by them. By them it might be loaned to their 
own banking institutions, or even to individuals — a mode 
of distribution by the general government, which I sin- 
cerely hope is in the contemplation of no friend to his 
country. 

2nd. Whilst I have always broadly admitted that the 
public lands were the common property of all the states, 
1 have been the advocate of that mode of disposing of 
them, which would create the greatest number of free- 
holders ; and I conceived that in this way the interests of 
all would be as well secured as by any other disposition; 
but since, by the small size of the tracts in which the 
lands are now laid out, and the reduction of the price, 
this desirable situation is easily attainable by any person 
of tolerable industry, I am perfectly reconciled to the 
distribution of the proceeds of the sales as provided for 
by the bill introduced into the senate by Mr. Clay; the 
interests of all seem to be well provided for by this bill ; 
and as for the opposition which has hitherto been made 
to the disposition of the lands heretofore contemplated 
by the representatives of the new states, there is no prob- 
ability of its being adopted, I think it ought no longer to 
be insisted on. 

3rd. As 1 believe that no money should be taken from 
the treasury of the United States to be expended on in- 
ternal improvements but for those which are strictly na- 
tional, the answer to this question would be easy but from 
the difficulty of determining which of those that are from 
time to time propustd, would be of this description. 
This circumstance, the excitement which has already 
been produced by appropriations of this kind, and the 
jealousies which it will no doubt continue to produce if 
7 K 



146 SKETCHES OF 

persisted in, give additional claims to the mode of appro- 
priatinL' all the surplus revenue of the United States ia 
the manner ahove sutrtrested. Each state will then have 
the means of accomplishing its own schemes of internal 
improvement. iStill there will be particular cases when 
a contemplated improvement will be of greater advantage 
to the Ihiion generally, and some particular states, than to 
that in which it is to lie made. In such cases, as well as 
those in the new states, where the value of the public do- 
main w'll be gnatly enhanced by an improvement in the 
means of communication, the general government should 
certainly largely contribute. To appropriations of the lat- 
ter character there has never been any very warm oppo- 
sition. Upon the \vhf«le, the distribution of the surplus 
revenue amongst the slates seems likely to remove most, 
if not all, the causes of dissension of which the internal 
improvement system has been the fruitful source. There 
is nothing, in my opinion, more sacredly incumbent upon 
those who are concerned in the administration of our 
government, than that of preserving harmony between 
the states. From the construction of our system, there 
has been, and probably ever will be, more or less jeal- 
ousy between the general and state governments ; but 
there is nothing in the constitution — nothing in the char- 
acter of the relation which the stales bear to each other, 
which can create any unfriendly feeling, if the common 
guardian administers its favor with an even and impartial 
hand. That this may be the case, all those to whom any 
portion of tliis delicate power is entrusted, should always 
act upon the principles of forbearance and conciliation; 
ever more ready to sacrifice the interest of their imme- 
diate constituents, rather than violate the rights of the 
other members of the family. Those who pursue a dif- 
ferent course, whose rule is never to stop short of the at- 
tainment of ait which they may consider iheir due, will 
often be found to have trespassed upon the boundary 
they had themselves established. The observations with 
^vhich I shall conclude this letter, on the subject of the 
veto power by the president, will apply to this as well 
fia your other questions. 

4th. I have before me a newspaper, in which I am 



GENERAL HARRISON. 147 

designated by its distinguished editor, " The bank and 
federal candidate,'*'^ J think it would puzzle the writer 
to adduce any act of my life, which warrants him in 
identifying me with the interest of the first, or the poli- 
tics of the latter. Having no means of ascertiiining the 
sentimohts of the directf<rs and stock-holders of the 
bank of the United States, (whrcli is the one, 1 presume, 
with which it was int(-nded to associate me,) I cannot 
say what their course is likely to be in relation to the en- 
suing" election for president. Should they, however, give 
me their support, it will be evidence at least, that the 
opposition which I gave to their institution in my ca- 
pacity of representative from Ohio, in congress, pro- 
ceeded, in their opinion, from a sense of duty which I 
could not disregard. 

The journals of the second session of the thirteenth, 
and those of the fourteenth congress, will show that my 
votes are recorded aoainst them upon every question in 
which their interest was involved. I did, indeed, exert 
myself in the senate of Ohio, to procure a repeal of the law, 
which had iiTiposed an enormous tax upon the branches 
which had been located in its boundaries at the request 
of the citizens. The ground of those exertions was not 
the interest of the bank ; but to save what I considered 
the honor of the state, and to prevent a controversy be- 
tween the state officers and those of the United States. 

In the spring of 1834, I had also the honor to preside 
at a meetifig of the citizens of Hamilton county, called 
for the j)urpose of expressing their sentiments in relation 
to the removal of the public money from the custody of 
the bank, by the sole authority of the exeiiutive. As 
president of the meeting, I explained at some lenath the 
object for which it was convened, but I advanced no 
opinion in relation to the rechartering of the bank. 

A most respectful memorial to the president in relation 
to the removal of the deposites was adopted, as were also 
resolutions in favor of rechartering the hank ; but, as I 
have already said, this was not the purpose for which 
the meeting was called, and not one upon which, as pre-' 
siding officer, I was called upon to give an opinion, but 
in tiie event of an equal division of the votes. 



148 SKETCHES OP 

As a private citizen, no man can be more entirely clear 
of any motive, either for rechartering the old institution, 
or creating a new one under the authority of the United 
Slates. 1 never had a single share in the former, nor in- 
deed, in any hank, with one exception ; and that many 
years ago failed, with the loss of the entire stock. I 
have no inclination again to venture in that way, even if 
I should ever possess the means. With the exception 
above mentioned, of stock in a bank, long since bro- 
ken, I never put out a dollar at interest in my life. My 
interest being eniirely identified with the cultivation of 
the soil, I am immediately and personally connected with 
none other. 

I have made this statement to show you that I am 
not committed to any course in relation to the chartering 
of a bank of the United States ; and that I might, if so 
disposed, join in the popular cry of denunciation against 
the old institution, and upon its misconduct, predicate an 
opposition to the chartering of another. 

I shall not, however, take this course so opposite to 
that which I hope I have followed through life, but will 
give you my sentiments clearly and fully, not only with 
regard to the future conduct of the government on the 
subject of a national bank, but in relation to the operation 
of that which is now defunct. 

I was not in congress when the late bank was char- 
tered, but was a member of the 13th congress, after its 
first session, when the conduct of the bank, in its incip- 
ient measures was examined into; and believing, from 
the result of the investigation, that the charter had been 
violated, I voted for the judicial investigation, with a 
view of annulling its charter. The resolution for that 
purpose, however, failed ; and shortly after, the manage- 
ment of its affairs was committed to the talents and in- 
tegrity of Mr. Cheves. From that period to its final dis- 
solution, (although I must confess I am not a very com- 
petent judge of such matters,) I have no idea that an 
institution could have been conducted with more ability, 
integrity, and public advantage than it has been. 

Under these impressions, I agree with general Jackson 
in the opinion expressed in one of his messages to con- 



GENERAL HARRISON. 149 

gress, from which I make the following extract : " That 
a bank of the United States, competent to all the duties 
which may he required by the government, might be so or' 
ganized as not to infringe on our delegated powers, or the 
reserved rights of the states, I do not entertain a doubt,'*^ 
But the period for rechartering' the old institution has 
passed, as Pennsylvania has wisely taken care to appro- 
priate to herself the benefits of its large capital. 

The question, then, for me to answer, is whether, un- 
der the circumstances you state, if elected to the office 
of president, I would sign an act to charter another bank. 
I answer, I would, if it were clearly ascertained that the 
public interest in relation to the collection and disburse- 
ment of the revenue would materially suffer without 
one, and there were unequivocal manifestations of public 
opinion in its favor. I think, however, the experiment 
should be fairly tried, to ascertain whether the financial 
operations of the government cannot be as well carried 
on without the aid of a national bank. If it is not neces- 
sary for that purpose, it does not appear to me that one 
can be constitutionally chartered. There is no construc- 
tion which I can give the constitution which would au- 
thorize it, on the ground of affording facilities to com- 
merce. The measure, if adopted, must have for its ob- 
ject the carrying into effect (facilitating at least the exer- 
cise of,) some one of the powers positively granted to the 
general government. If others flow from it, producing 
equal or greater advantages to the nation, so much the 
better; but these cannot be made the ground for justify- 
ing a recourse to it. 

The excitement which has been produced by the bank 
question, the number and respectability of those who 
deny the right to congress to charter one, strongly recom- 
mended the course above suggested. 

5th. I distinctly answer to this question, that, in my 
opinion, neither house of congress can constitutionally 
expunge the record of the proceedings of their prede- 
cessors. 

The power to rescind certainly belongs to them ; 
and is, for every public legitimate purpose, all that is 
necessary. The attempt to expunge their journal, now 

n3 



150 SKETCHES OP 

makinET in the senate of the United Slates, 1 am satis- 
fied could never have lieen madp but in a period of the 
highest party excitement, uhnh the voice of reason and 
generous feeling is stilled by long protracted and bitter 
controversy. 

In relation to the exercise of the veto power by the 
pmsident, there is, I think, an important difff^rence in 
opinion between tl»e present chief nr.iufistrate and myself. 
I express this r>pini(,n w ith less ditlidince, because 1 be- 
lieve mine is in strict accordance w ith those of all the 
previous presidents to general Jackson. 

The veto power, or ilie control rf the executive over 
the enactment of laws by the legislative body, was not 
unknown in the United States |)rcvi<)usly to the formation 
of the present federal constitution. It does not appear, 
however, to have been in much favor. The principle 
was to be found in but three of the state constitutions; 
and in but one of them (Massachusetts,) was the execu- 
tive power lodged in the hands of a single chief magis- 
trate. One other state, (Suuth Carolina,) had, indeed, 
not only ad(jpted this principle, but hail given its single 
executive magistrate an absolute netiative upon the acts 
of the legislature. In all other instances it has been a 
qualified negative, like that of the United States. The 
people of South Carolina seem, however, not to have 
been long pleased with this investment of power in their 
governnr, as it lasted but two years ; having been adop- 
ted in 1776, and repealed in 1778; from which time the 
acts of the legislature of that state have been entirely 
freed from executive control. Since the adoption of 
the constitution of the United States, the veto principle 
has been adopted by several other states; and untiJ 
very lately, it seemed to be very rapidly growing into 
favor. 

Before we can form a correct opinion of the manner in 
which this power should be exercised, it is proper to un- 
derstand the reasons which have induced its adoption. 
In its theory, it is manife>;tly an innovation upon the first 
principle of republican government — that the majority 
tBhould rule. Why should a sinfjle individual control 
the will of that majority j 



GENERAL HARRISON. 151 

It will not be said that there is more probability of 
finding greater wisdom in the executive chair, than in 
the halls of the legislature. Nor can it possibly be 
supposed, that an individual residing in the centre of an 
extensive country, can be as well acquainted with the 
wants and wishes of a numerous people, as those who 
come immediately from amongst them — the partakers, for 
a portion of the year, in their various labors and employ- 
ments; and the witnesses of the effects of the laws in 
their more minute as well as general operations. 

As far, then, as it regards a knowledge of the wants 
and wishes of the people, wisdom to discover remedies 
for increasing the public prosperity, it would seem that 
the legislative bodies did not require the aid of an exec- 
utive m.agistrate. But there is a principle, recognized 
by all the American constitutions, which was unknown 
to the ancient republics. They all acknowledge rights 
in the minority, v/hich cannot rightfully be taken from 
them. Experience had shown that in large assemblies, 
these riffhts were not always respected. It would be 
in vain that they should be enumerated, and respect for 
them enjoined in the constitution. A popular assembly, 
under the influence of that spirit of party which is alvvaj s 
discoverable in a greater or less degree in all republics, 
might, and would, as it was believed, sometimes disre- 
gard them. To guard against this danger, and to secure 
the rights of each individual, the expedient of creating 
a department independent of the others, and amenable 
only to the laws, was adopted. Security was thus given 
against any palpable violation of the constitution, t'o the 
injury of individuals, or a minority party. But it was 
still possil)]e fir a willful and excited majority to enact 
laws of the greatest injustice and tyranny, without vio- 
lating the letter of their charter. 

And this I take to be the origin of the veto pow^er, as 
well in the state governments, as that of the United 
States. It appears to have been the intention to create 
an umpire between the contending factions, which had 
existed, it vvns believed, and would continue to exist. 
If there was any propriety in adopting this principle in 
the government of a state, all the reasons in iavor of it 



l52 SKETCHES OF 

existed in a tenfold degree for incorporating- it in that of 
the United States. The operations of the latter, extend- 
ing over an immense tract of country, embracing the pro- 
ducts of almost every clime, and that country divided 
too into a number of separate governments, in many re- 
spects independent of each other and of the common 
federal head, left but little hope that they could always 
be carried on in harmony. It could not be doubted that 
sectional interests would at times predominate in the 
bosoms of the immediate represent^itives of the people 
and the states, combinations formed destructive of the 
public good, or unjust and oppressive to a minority. 
Where could a power to check these local feelings, and 
to destroy the effects of unjust combinations, be better 
placed than in the hands of ihat department whose autho- 
rity, being derived from the same common sovereign, is 
co-ordinate with the rest, and which enjoys the great 
distinction of being at once the immediate representa- 
tive of the whole people, as well as of each particular 
state? 

In the former character, the interests of the whole 
community would be rigidly supported, and, in the latter, 
the rights of each member steadfastly maintained. The 
representation from the state authorities in the electoral 
colleges, I consider one of the most felicitous features 
in the constitution. It serves as an eternal memento to 
ihe chief magistrate that it is his duty to guard the in- 
terests of the weak against the unjust aggressions of the 
strong and powerful. From these premises, you will con- 
clude that I consider the qualified veto upon the acts of the 
legislature, conferred by the constitution upon the presi- 
dent, as a conservative power, intended only to be used to 
secure the instrument itself from violation, or, in times 
of high party excitement, to protect the rights of the 
minority, and the interests of the weaker members of 
the Union. Such, indeed, is my opinion, and such we 
must believe to be the opinion of nearly all the distin- 
guished men who have filled the executive chair. If I 
were president of the United States, an act which did 
not involve either of the principles above enumerated, 
must have beea passed under very peculiar circum- 



GENERAL HARRISON. 153 

stances of precipitancy or opposition to the known public 
will, to induce me to refuse to it my sanction. 

If the opinion I have given of the motives of the fra- 
mers of the constitution, in giving the veto power to the 
president, is correct, it follows, that they never could 
have expected that he who was constituted the umpire 
between contending factions, should ever identify him- 
self with the interests of one of them, and voluntarily 
razee himself from the proud eminence of leader of a na- 
tion to that of chief of a party. I can easily conceive 
the existence of a state of things by which the chief ma- 
gistrate of a state may be forced to act upon party prin- 
ciples ; but such a course is entirely opposed to all the 
obligations which the constitution imposes on a presi- 
dent of the United States. The immense influence he 
possesses will always give to his party the prepon- 
derance, and the very circumstance of its being an ex- 
ecutive party will be the cause of infusing more bitter- 
ness and vindictive feeling in these domestic contests. 
Under these circumstances, the qualified veto given by 
the constitution may, if the president should think pro- 
per to change its character, become as absolute in prac- 
tice as that possessed by the kings of England and 
France. From the great variety of local interests acting 
upon the members of the two houses of congress, and 
from the difficulty of keeping all the individuals of a 
large party under the control of party discipline, laws 
will often be passed by small majorities adverse to the 
interests of the dominant party; but if the president 
should think proper to use the veto power for the pur- 
pose of promoting the interests of his party, it will be in 
vain to expect that a majority so large as two-thirds in 
both houses would be found in opposition to his wishes. 
In the hands of such a president, the qualified veto of 
the constitution would in practice be absolute. 

I have, upon another occasion, expressed my views 
upon the danger of a dominant executive party. It may, 
perhaps, be said, that the chief matjistrate will find it im- 
possible to avoid the influence of party spirit. Several 
of our chief magistrates, however, have been able to 
escape its influence ; or, what is the same thing, to act 



164 SKETCHES OF 

as if they did not feel it. As one mode of avoiding it» 
it would be my aim to interfere with the legislation of 
coiiaross as little as possible. The clause in the coiisti- 
tuti'in which makes it the duty of the president to give 
congress information (>f the stale of the Union, and to 
recommend to thfir consideration such measures as he 
shall judge necessary and expedient, could never be in- 
tended to make him the source of letrislation. Infonna- 
tion should alwaj's be frankly given, and recommenda- 
tions upon such matters as come nmre immediately under 
his cognizance than theirs. But there it should end. 
If he should undertake to prepare the business of legisla- 
tion for the action of congress, or to assume the char- 
acter of code maker for the nation, the personal interest 
which he will lake in the success of his measures will 
necessarily convert him into a partisan, and will totally 
incapacitate hini from performing the part of that impar- 
tial umpire, which is the character that I have supposed 
the constitution intends him to assume, when the acts 
passed by the legislature are submitted to his decision. 
I do not ihink it by any means necessary that he should 
take the lead as a reformer, even when reformation is, in 
his opinion, necessary. Reformers will be never want- 
ing when it is well understood that the power which 
wields the whole patronage of the nation will not oppose 
the ref irmation. 

I have the honor to be, with great consideration and 
respect, sir, your humble servant. 

W. H. HARRISON. 

To the Hon. Sherrod Williams. 

In 1838, a gentleman in New Jersey addressed general 
Harrison on the subject of duelling. The reply to this 
letter has been widely circulated, and is justly consider- 
ed one of the most effective attacks upon the practice of 
personal combat, that has been made. The concluding 
paragraph presents general Harrison's own views upon 
this subject, and we subjoin it. 

" I ani satisfied, that what I have said above, does not 
entirely meet your enquiry, and that you will expect me 
to state what effect the scenes described had in forming-, 



GENERAL HARRISON. 155 

my own .principles, and governing- my own conduct. I 
have already stated an entire chaiifre in my sentiments, 
on the subject of duelling, from those whicii I eniertained 
upon my first entering- the army; and for which no ex- 
cuse can be offered, but my extreme youth, and the bad 
examples continually before me. In almost every other 
case, possessed of the deliberate opinions of a tnan, you 
might safely conclude that his conduct would be in con- 
formity to them. But such, alas ! is not the case with 
men of the world, in relation to the laws which Ibrra 
*' the code of honor." Abstractedly considered, they all 
condemn them, whilst in practice they adopt them. In 
all other cases, independent men act from their own con- 
victions, but, in this case, upon the opinions of others, or 
rather from what they fear may be the opinions of others. 
I acknowledge, then, that the change of my opinions, 
which I have admitted in relation to duelling, had no 
other influence on my conduct, than to determine me 
never to be the a^rgressor. But, although resolved to of- 
fer no insult nor inflict any injury, I was determined to 
suflTer none. When I left the army, however, atid retired 
to civil lifp, I considered mysplf authorized greatly to 
narrow the ground upon which I would be willing to re- 
sort to a personal combat. To the determination which 
I had previously made, to offer no insult or inflict any 
injury to give occasion to any one to call upon me in this 
way, (for after witnessin-T tne scene whic-h I have last 
described, the wealth and honors of the world would not 
have tempted me to level a pistol at the breast of a man 
whom I had injured,) I resolved to disregard all remarks 
upon my conduct which could not be construed into a 
deliherate insult, or atiy injury wliich did not affect my 
reputation or the happiness and peace of my family. 
When I had the honor to be called upon to command the 
north-western army, recollecting the number of gallant 
men that had fallen in the former war, in personal com- 
bat, I determine';', to use all the authority and all the in- 
fluence of my station to prevent tht-ir reeurnmce. And, 
to take away the principal source from which they spring, 
in an address to the Pennsylvania brigade, at Sandusky, 
I declared it to be ray determination to prevent, by all 



156 SKETCHES OF 

the means that the military laws placed in my hands, any 
injury, or even insult, which should be offered, by the 
superior to the inferirjr officers. 1 cannot say what influ- 
ence this course, upon my part, may have produced in 
the result; but I state with pleasure, that there was not 
a single duel, nor, as far as I know, a challenge given, 
whilst I retained the command. The activity in which 
the army was constantly kept, may, however, have been 
the principal cause of this uncommon hatmony. 

*' In relation to my present sentiments, a sense of higher 
obligations than human laws, or human opinions can im- 
pose, has determined me never, on any occasion, to ac- 
cept a challenge or seek redress for a personal injury, by 
a resort to the laws which compose the code of honor." 

The proceedings of the National Democratic Anti- 
masonic Convention, held in Pennsylvania, in 1838, by 
which general Harrison was nominated for the presi- 
dency of the United States, in the canvass of 1840, were 
transmitted to him, officially, by the Honorable Harmer 
Denny, of Pittsburgh. Under date of December 2nd, 
1838, the general made a reply to Mr. Denny, the sub- 
stance of which is here criven : 

" Dear Sir : — As it is probable that you have by this 
time returned to Pittsburgh, I do mysnlf the honor to ac- 
knowledge the receipt of your letter from Philadelphia, 
containing the proceedings of the National Democratic 
Anti-masonic Convention, which lately convened in that 
city. With feelings of the deepest gratitude, I read the 
resolution unanimously adopted, nominating me as a can- 
didate for the president of the United States. This is 
the second time that 1 have received from that patriotic 
party, of Avhich you yourself are a distinguished member, 
the highest evidence of confidence that can be "iven to a 
citizen of our republic. I would attempt to describe my 
sense of the obligations I owe them, if I were not con- 
•vinced that any language which I could command would 
fall far short of what I really feel. If, however, the 
wishes of the convention should be realized, and if I 
should second their efforts, I shall have it in my power 
to manifest my gratitude in a manner more acceptable to 
those whom you represent, than by any professions of it 



GENERAL HARRISON. 157 

which I could at this time make ; I mean by exerting my 
utmost efforts to carry out the principles set forth in their 
resolutions, by arresting the progress of the measures 
" destructive to the prosperity of the people, and tending 
to the subversion of their liberties," and substituting for 
them those sound democratic republican doctrines, upon 
which the administration of Jefferson and Madison were 
conducted. 

Among the principles proper to be adopted by any ex- 
ecutive sincerely desirous to restore the administration to 
its original simplicity and purity, I deem the following 
to be of prominent importance. 

I. To confine his service to a single term. 

II. To disclaim all right of control over the public 
treasure, with the exception of such part of it as may be 
appropriated by law, to carry on the public services, and 
that to be applied precisely as the law may direct, and 
drawn from the treasury agreeably to the long establish- 
ed forms of that department. 

III. That he should never attempt to influence the 
elections, either by the people or the state legislatures, 
nor suffer the federal officers under his control to take 
any other part in them than by giving their own votes, 
when they possess the right of voting. 

IV. That in the exercise of the veto power, he should 
limit his rejection of bills to, 1st. Such as are, in his 
opinion, unconstitutional ; 2nd. Such as tend to encroach 
on the rights of the states or individuals ; 3rd. Such as 
involving deep interests, may, in his opinion, require 
more mature deliberation or reference to the will of the 
people, to be ascertained at the succeeding elections, 

V. That he should never suffer the influence of his of- 
fice to be used for purposes of a purely party character. 

VI. That in removals from oflRce of those w^ho hold 
their appointments during the pleasure of the executive, 
the cause of such removal should be stated, if requested, 
to the senate, at the time the nomination of a successor is 
made. 

And last, but not least in importance, 

VII. That he should not suffer the executive depart- 
ment of the government to become the source of legisla- 

M 



158 SKETCHES OF 

tion : but leave the whole business of making kws for 
the Union to the department to which the constitution 
has exclusively assigned it, until they have assumed that 
perfected shape, where and when alone the opinions of 
ihe executive may be heard. # * * * 

The question may periiaps be asked of me, what secu- 
rity I have in my power, to offer, if the majority of the 
American people should select me for their chief magis- 
trate, that I would ad(jpt the principles which 1 have 
herein laid down as those upon which my adn)inisiration 
•would he conducted ; I could only answer, by referring to 
my Conduct, and the disposition manifested in the dis- 
charge of the duties of several important offices, which 
have heretofore been conferred upon me. If the powe: 
j)laced in my hands has, on even a single occasion, been 
used for any purpose other than that for which it was 
given, or retained longer than was necessary to accom- 
plish the objects designated by those from whom the 
trusts were received, I will acknowledge that either will 
constitute a sufficient reason for discrediting any promise 
I may make, under the circumstances in which I am novtr 
placed." 

In December, 1839, a national convention, opposed to 
the present adminislration of the general government, 
was held in Harrisburgh, Pennsylvania, composed of a 
larire number of deleirates, of tried virtue, patriotism and 
intelligence. Jn this august body, drawn from twenty- 
three out of the twenty-six stales of the Union, and rep- 
resenting every variety of interest in the slaveholding, 
as well as the non-slavelioldin<T districts of the country, 
after full and mature deliberation, William Henry Harri- 
son was unanimously nominated as a candidate for the 
pres^idency, in 1840. This nnmir)ation was but a formal 
sanction nf iliat previously made by the public sentiment 
of the nntion. The people themselves, spontaneously, in 
their primitive meetings, had already most clearly mani- 
fested their preference for the patriot statesman of North 
Bend. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 199 



CHAPTER XIII. 

General Harrison's civil and military qualifications considered 
— Parallel between him and Washington. — His integrity and 
disinterestedness, illustrated by several anecdotes. — His social 
and literary character. — His enjoyment of a green old age in 
body and mind. 

Our narrative of the civil and military services of Har- 
rison, is now closed. Brief and imperfect as it may ap- 
pear, it is sufficient to establish his claim to a high rank 
as a civilian and a general. He has been thoroughly 
tried in the council and the field, and in every situation 
has proved himself equal to the circumstances by which 
he has been surrounded. No citizen of the United 
Slates, it is believed, has ever filled so many civil and 
military offices, as the subject of this memoir ; and cer- 
tainly no one has ever been more uniformly successful in 
discharging the trusts confided to him. 

If it be true, that to plan and carry on a successful 
campaign, "requires an almost intuitive sagacity, great 
|)owers of combination, with prudence, caution, prompt- 
ness, and energy, combined with perfect self-reliance and 
self-control," it may be assumed that general Harrison, 
who is admitted to possess these attributes, — is an ac- 
complished civil ruler; inasmuch as these are precisely 
the qualities which fit an individual for acting efficiently 
upon men and things as they exist around him. But 
there are other and more practical evidences of his capa- 
city as a statesman. More than twenty years of his life 
have been spent in various important civil offices, many 
of them requiring inflexible integrity, firmness, intelli- 
gence, and wisdom. To prove that he possesses these 
virtues, in a high degree, it is only necessary to recur to 
his acts as governor of Indiana, as Indian commissioner 
and as a member of the national legislature. The nies- 
sages, letters, and speeches, called forth by these dif- 
ferent situations, are not only fine specimens of compo- 
sition, but exhibit great accuracy of information, consis- 



160 SKETCHES OP 

tency of political principle, and maturity of judgment. 
Rising above all sectarian or party influence, his views 
were at once national and deeply imbued with the love 
of liberty ; his voice and influence have ever been exerted 
in sustaining the cause of freedom in this, as well as in 
other kindred lands. 

In his military capacity, general Harrison is not less 
distinguished. As commander-in-chief of the north- 
western army, he was entrusted with more extensive and 
responsible powers, than have been confided to any offi- 
cer in our country, Washington alone excepted. The 
command assio^ned to him, embraced an immense extent 
of territory, with a frontier of several hundred miles in 
length, stretching along the lakes (then in possession ofj 
the enemy) with harbors, inlets, and rivers, admirably 
suited to favor their attacks upon our scattered border 
settlements. To defend this extended line of frontier, 
the commander's forces were chiefly undisciplined militia 
— entirely wanting experience in the field — engaged for 
short terms of service, and held in obedience more by 
personal influence than the force of authority. But it 
was not to the defence alone of this district, that general 
Harrison's duties were confined. He was directed by 
his government, to act offensively against the enemy, by 
retaking Detroit, and capturing the uppermost Canada, 
defended, as it was, by experienced British officers and 
soldiers, aided by a large body of north-western Indians. 
Detroit and Canada were separated from general Harri- 
son's source of troops, munitions of war and provisions, 
by a trackless and swampy wilderness, without roads', 
and presenting almost insuperable obstacles to the trans- 
portation of army supplies; while at the same time, it 
was precisely the region of country best adapted to the 
peculiar mode of warfare practised by the bold and fero- 
cious Indians. Notwithstandiiio these manifold difficul- 
ties, in about one year, from the time when he was in- 
vested with the chief command of the north-westera 
army, general Harrison drove the enemy from his ex- 
tended military district, retook Detroit, defeated the com- 
bined army of "Proctor and Tecumthe, on the Thames, 
conquered the uppermost Canada, and passed, as a vie- 



GENERAL HARRISON. 161 

torious chieftain, down to the seat of war, on the Nia- 
gara frontier. 

In many points, the military career of Harrison bears 
a strong- auulog-y to that of VVasiiintrton. The same ex- 
tent of discretionary powers and responsibilities — the 
same ditHculties in procurittg supplies of troops and pro- 
visions; and in part, the same obstacles in the nature of 
the country to be traversed, marked the history of both. 
They never hazarded the grand result, by a minor enter- 
prise, however tempting — they sought no laurels by the 
wanton sacrifice of their soldiers, but regulated all their 
movements with a single aim to the public good. Both 
exercised the extensive powers with which they were 
invested, without any invasion of the laws, or the rights 
of the citizen : and, both retired to the peaceful pursuits 
of agriculture, when the objects which called them to the 
field, had been effected : finally, to both may be justly 
awarded the valor of Marceilus, the caution of Fabius, 
and the disinterestedness of Cincinnatus. 

Inflexible integrity and a self-sacrificing patriotism, 
may be considered the crowning virtues of general Har- 
rison's character. These virtues have marked his career 
in the council and the field — in youth and in age. Whea 
asked by what means he was enabled so successfully to 
gain the love and obedience of the militia, who followed 
his banner during the late war, he replied : " By treating 
them with affection and kindness — by always recollect- 
ing that tlipy were my fellow-citizens, whose feelings I 
was bound to respect, and by sharing with them, on every 
occasion, the hardships which they were obliged to un- 
dergo." Throughout the whole of his military cam- 
paigns, he shared with his soldiers in all their fatigues, 
dangers, and privations. We were lately assured, by a 
member of his military family in tlie campaign of 1S13, 
that the table of the commander-in-chief was often not as 
well supplied with provisions, as those of the common 
soldiers; and that he has frequently seen the general sil- 
ting by the fire, roasting a piece of beef, and then eating 
it without salt or bread. On one occasion, after march- 
ing all day, through a beech bottom, covered with mud 
and water, without their baggage, or any provisions, tha 

n2 



162 SKETCHES OF 

general, by way of preventing his troops from being dis- 
couraged, sat down upon a log^ wrapped in his cloak, — 
the rain falling fast, and the gloom ota night in the wil- 
derness, only broken by a few glimmering camp-fires,— 
and then gaily calling upon the officers to sing songs, he 
spread content and cheerfulness throughout the whole 
detachment. By examples such as these, he gained the 
confidence and affection of the crowds of volunteer mili- 
tia, who were attracted to his standard, not less by their 
patriotism, than the distinguished reputation of the com- 
mander-in-chief. 

Since his retirement from the army, he has been the 
ch^f representative of the military class of our citizens, 
in the region in which he lives. Those who served un- 
der him in the late war, make frequent pilgrimages to 
North Bend ; while the old soldiers, who fought under 
Harmer, and St. Clair, and Wayne, not only throng his 
hospitable fire-side, but look to general Harrison, above 
all other men, to present their claims to congress, for 
land or pensions, on the score of past services and sac- 
rifices. 

While governor of Indiana, and superintendent of In- 
dian affairs, during a period of twelve years, he dis- 
bursed, at his discretion, and with but few, if any 
checks, very large sums of money; and, in the course 
of the late war, he drew on the treasury for more than 
six hundred thousand dollars for military purposes. Yet 
general Harrison retired from public service poorer than 
he entered it; and has never been a defaulter to his gov- 
ernment. There are but two instances, it is believed, in 
which even a whisper of suspicion, against the purity of 
his official conduct, has been heard. One of these, made 
by an army contractor, was investigated in congress, and 
the charge triumphantly refuted. The other occurred 
while governor of Indiana. A foreigner, residing in 
that territory, by the name of Mcintosh, and possessing 
very considerable wealth, having taken some offence, 
charged governor Harrison with having defrauded the 
Indians, in the treaty of Fort W^ayne, made in the year 
1809. The accused, very properly concluded that it was 
due to his own reputation, not less than to the interests 



GENERAL HARRISON. 163 

of the general government, that a charge of this kind, 
should be fully investigated in a court of justice. He 
therefore instituted a suit in the supreme court of the ter- 
ritory, and after a full and fair trial, before a judge and a 
jury of admitted impartiality between the parties, a ver- 
dict was rendered against thedefendanl for four thousand 
dollars. The evidence was so conclusive in favor of 
governor Harrison, that Mcintosh did not attempt to 
press the truth of the charge upon the jury, but only 
sought to lessen the amount of damages, by pleading 
some matters in extenuation of his conduct. When the 
property of the defendant was levied upon, to satisfy the 
judgment, it was bought-in by an agent of the governor, 
who immediately distributed one third of it among the 
orphan children of his fellow-citizens that had died in 
battle; and then restored the remainder to Mclnto.sh him- 
self. It has been well observed, that "no language of 
praise can add to the truth and force of the simple beauty 
of such an example of magnanimity, disinterestedness, 
and generosity." 

Some years since, it was discovered that a large tract 
of land, adjoining Cincinnati, which had been sold long 
previously, for a very small sum, under an execution 
against the original proprietor of the Miami country, 
could not be held under this sale, in consequence of some 
defective proceedings in court. The legal title to this 
tract, now immensely valuable, was vested in Mrs. Har- 
rison and another individual, as the heirs-at-law. Im- 
mediately upon being informed of the situation of this 
property, general Harrison procured the consent of the 
co-heir, and joined him in releasing to the purchasers the 
whole of this land, without claiming any other consider- 
ation, than the few hundred dollars, which constituted 
the difference between the actual value, at the time when 
sold, and the amount paid at the sheriff's sale. 

In 1804, the governor of Indiana was, upon the sug- 
gestion of president Jefferson, made ex-officio governor 
of " Upper Louisiana." Under the impression that it 
was sound policy to convince the inhabitants of the 
newly acquired territory, that they had lost nothing by 
the change, governor Harrison declined receiving the 



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